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Statistical Optimization of Ternary Blends of Poly(lactic acid)/Ethylene Acrylate Copolymer/Wood Flour Composites
Author(s) -
Afrifah Kojo A.,
Matuana Laurent M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201100097
Subject(s) - wood flour , materials science , composite material , factorial experiment , ternary operation , copolymer , particle size , polymer , mathematics , chemical engineering , statistics , computer science , engineering , programming language
Factorial design analyses and numerical optimization are performed to establish material compositions (wood flour content, particle size, and impact modifier content) and mechanical property relationships for PLA/wood flour composites. Numerical optimization produces two scenarios based on materials compositions to manufacture composites with similar mechanical properties as unfilled PLA. High wood flour and impact modifier contents are required for composites made with fine wood flour particles, whereas the formulation requires low wood flour content and excludes impact modifiers for composites with coarse wood flour particles. These optimization solutions are validated experimentally.