Assessment of the Natural Fiber Reinforced Bio-Polyethylene Composites Flexural Macro and Micromechanical Properties

ABSTRACT

One of the most common load modes is flexure. The paper measures and models the flexural strength and modulus of a bio-polyethylene reinforced with thermos-mechanical fibers from corn stover. Moreover, the authors use modified rules of mixtures to evaluate the contribution of the reinforcements to the properties of the composite. It was found a high impact of coupling agent content on the strength of the composites, and materials with a 6% of such agent and 50% of reinforcement increased 181% the strength of the matrix, and 464% its modulus. The obtained values are noticeable higher than polypropylene and some of its composites. Micromechanics analysis shows that the effect of natural fiber reinforcement on the flexural properties of a bio-based PE is similar to the effects on a polyolefin. Thus, the use of fully bio-based composites can be proposed as a substitute for some oil-based polymers, partially bio-based materials, and their composites.

摘要

最常见的荷载模式之一是挠曲. 本文测量并建模了玉米秸秆热机械纤维增强生物聚乙烯的弯曲强度和模量. 此外，作者还使用混合物修正规则来评估增强体对复合材料性能的贡献. 发现偶联剂含量对复合材料的强度有很大的影响，偶联剂含量为6%、增强剂含量为50%的材料使基体强度增加181%，模量增加464%. 所得值明显高于聚丙烯及其某些复合材料. 微观力学分析表明，天然纤维增强对生物基PE弯曲性能的影响与对聚烯烃的影响相似. 因此，可以建议使用全生物基复合材料替代某些油基聚合物、部分生物基材料及其复合材料.

KEYWORDS:

• Biocomposites
• injection molding, micromechanical analysis
• flexural properties
• natural fibers
• interface analysis

关键词:

• 生物复合材料
• 注塑成型
• 微观力学分析
• 弯曲性能
• 天然纤维
• 接口分析

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Serra Húnter Program.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

We confirm that all the research meets ethical guidelines and adheres to the legal requirements of the study country. The research does not involve any human or animal welfare related issues.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).