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Effect of fiber volume fraction on the thermal and mechanical behavior of polylactide‐based composites incorporating bamboo fibers
Author(s) -
Wang Fang,
Yang Mengqing,
Zhou Shujue,
Ran Siyan,
Zhang Junqian
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.46148
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , ultimate tensile strength , fiber , differential scanning calorimetry , polylactic acid , thermogravimetric analysis , volume fraction , composite number , compression molding , dynamic mechanical analysis , scanning electron microscope , natural fiber , biocomposite , glass transition , tensile testing , polymer , mold , physics , thermodynamics , chemistry , organic chemistry
Biodegradable composites reinforced with natural fibers are emerging as advanced materials in structural applications. In this work, green biocomposites are fabricated using hot pressing molding technique, polylactic acid selected as a matrix. The samples are prepared with different fiber volume fractions (30%, 40%, and 50%). Tensile tests are conducted on the specimens to investigate the composite mechanical behavior, and the influences of fiber content on the morphological and thermomechanical properties are evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. There are higher tensile modulus and lower elongation at break for composites with increasing fiber content, respectively. Much variation in the tensile strength is observed when the fiber content is varied, which could be attributed to fiber agglomerations that affect the dispersion of fibers in the matrix, as evidenced by fracture surfaces. Thermal tests demonstrate that the increment of fiber content enhances the glass transition temperature and crystallization temperature of composites. Besides, a comparative analysis of the composites is performed, and the properties of the treated fiber composites are found to be improved compared to those from untreated fibers. Detailed analysis confirms the possibility of the addition of bamboo fibers to a biodegradable matrix for a specific application. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46148.