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Processing and physical properties of native grass‐reinforced biocomposites
Author(s) -
Liu Wanjun,
Thayer Kelby,
Misra Manjusri,
Drzal Lawrence T.,
Mohanty Amar K.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.20611
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , izod impact strength test , compression molding , heat deflection temperature , high density polyethylene , extrusion , compounding , plastics extrusion , polyethylene , molding (decorative) , thermoplastic , mold , ultimate tensile strength
Big blue stem grass fiber‐reinforced high density polyethylene powder biocomposites were fabricated using two separate processing schemes: (1) by compounding biofiber with the thermoplastic powder in an extruder and subsequently injection molding the extrusion pellets and (2) by combining biofiber and the powder thermoplastic powder using a modified sheet molding compounding (SMC) line and subsequently compression molding the sheet material. The physical properties including storage modulus, heat deflection temperature (HDT), notched Izod impact strength, and morphology were evaluated with dynamic mechanical analysis, Izod impact strength measurement, and microscopy observation. It was found that compression‐molded specimens achieved similar modulus values to injection molded specimens for grass‐reinforced high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites. The stiffness of the compression‐molded specimens is related to the consolidation state of the samples, which depends on compression molding conditions such as temperature, pressure, and mold type. Compression‐molded specimens exhibited a higher HDT and notched Izod impact strength compared to injection‐molded samples. Grass fiber‐reinforced cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) biocomposites made with SMC processing had similar physical properties with grass fiber‐reinforced HDPE composites, which indicates that natural fiber‐reinforced CAB biocomposites have the potential to replace polyolefin‐based composites for automotive applications. POLYM. ENG. SCI. 47:969–976, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.