Hydro and thermal stability of die drawn wood polymer composites in comparison to solid wood

Both isotropic and oriented wood polymer composites (WPC) based on 40% w/w of a softwood powder/hardwood powder and polypropylene (PP), together with solid pieces of wood, were subjected to water immersion and thermal expansion tests. Although generally die drawing increased the amount of water absorbed by the WPC by about 2-fold when compare to isotropic WPC, the oriented WPC exhibited extremely high hydro-dimensional stability. The values of the longitudinal and transverse swelling/shrinkage of the WPC oscillated only between 0 and −2.3% compared to values of between 4 and 14% for the solid woods. Incorporation of soft/hard wood powders into PP also substantially decreased its thermal expansion coefficient α in both the isotropic and the oriented states. This extremely positive effect was enhanced by increasing the draw ratio. In the longitudinal direction, α decreased from about 80 × 10⁻⁶ °C⁻¹ (for the isotropic PP) to 5 × 10⁻⁶ °C⁻¹ for the highly drawn PP filled with softwood.     

Die drawn wood polymer composites. I. Mechanical properties

Oriented wood polymer composites (WPC) have been prepared by the Leeds die drawing process. Softwood and hardwood powder were used at 40% weight concentration (32% volume concentration) and in both cases materials with significantly increased stiffness (from 1.9 to 8.2 GPa) and strength (from 13 to 127 MPa) were obtained. Although the moduli of the drawn filled composites were lower than the equivalent unfilled polypropylene, the specific moduli, which take into account the lower density of the die drawn materials due to void formation were very similar. The type of wood particles and the use of polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride had only a marginal influence on the mechanical properties of the die drawn composites. The morphology of the wood composites was studied by electron microscopy.     

Effect of coupling agent and nanoclay on properties of HDPE,LDPE, PP,PVC blend and Phargamites karka nanocomposite

High density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) were solution blended by using a mixture of xylene and tetrahydrofuran as solvent and polyethylene-co-glycidyl methacrylate (PE-co-GMA) as compatibilizer. The minimum ratio of solvents to obtain a homogenous solution was optimised. Wood polymer composites (WPC) were prepared by using solution blended polymer, wood flour and nanoclay. X-ray diffraction studies of WPC treated with 1 and 3 phr nanoclay showed higher exfoliation compared to WPC treated with 5 phr nanoclay. TEM study also supported the above findings. FTIR studies indicated an interaction between wood, PE-co-GMA and clay. SEM study indicated an increase in miscibility among polymers due to addition of PE-co-GMA as compatibilizer. Thermal stability improved on addition of clay to the WPC. WPC treated with 3 phr clay showed highest mechanical properties. Hardness and water absorption were improved significantly with the addition of nanoclay to wood/polymer composite.     

Effects of hemicellulose extraction on properties of wood flour and wood-plastic composites

Hygroscopicity, low durability, and low thermal resistance are disadvantages of lignocellulosic materials that also plague wood-plastic composites (WPCs). Hemicellulose is the most hydrophilic wood polymer and is currently considered as a sugar source for the bioethanol industry. The objective of this research is to extract hemicellulose from woody materials and enhance the properties of WPC by diminishing the hydrophilic character of wood. Hemicellulose of Southern Yellow Pine was extracted by hot-water at three different temperatures: 140, 155, and 170 °C. Wood flour was compounded with polypropylene in an extruder, both with and without a coupling agent. Injection molding was used to make tensile test samples. The thermal stability of wood flour was found to have increased after extraction. Extraction of hemicellulose improved the tensile strength and water resistance of composites, which may indicate a decrease in the hygroscopicity of wood flour, better compatibility, and interfacial bonding of the filler and matrix.     

High density polyethylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate) in situ sub-micro-fibril blends as a matrix for wood plastic composites

Wood plastic composites were prepared based on in situ formed poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) sub-micro-fibril reinforced high density polyethylene (HDPE) matrices, using a two-step reactive extrusion technology. The use of ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate (E-GMA) copolymer improved phase compatibility in the sub-micro-fibril blends (SMFBs) with 75% HDPE and 25% PET. Most of in situ formed PET fibrils were less than 500 nm in diameter. The PET fibrils obviously increased mechanical properties of the blend, especially the moduli. The subsequent addition of 40 wt.% wood flour did not influence the size and morphology of PET fibrils, and the fibrils and wood fibers had a synergic reinforcement effect on composite properties. Compared with the HDPE/wood composites, the SMFB/wood system had 65% higher tensile strength, 95% higher tensile modulus, 42% higher flexural strength, and 64% higher flexural modulus, respectively. The technology offers a way to use engineering plastics (i.e., PET) for high performance WPC manufacturing.     

Short-term creep behavior of a biodegradable polymer reinforced with wood-fibers

The short-time creep behavior at tensile and single cantilever mode of deformation for a series of biodegradable composites was thoroughly studied. The composites were based on a biodegradable polymer matrix consisted a blend of poly(butylene adipate-terephthalate) (PBAT) copolyester, produced by non-renewable resources, and Polylactic acid (PLA). The matrix was reinforced with three different wood fiber types, at 20 and 30 wt%. The experimental data were analyzed in terms of Findley's and Burger's viscoelastic models. The effect of stress and temperature and wood fiber type on the material's creep response was analytically studied, while the Burger's model parameters were related to the composites morphology. In all cases, the wood fibers improved the creep resistance of the composites.     

Micromechanical modelling for wood–fibre reinforced plastics in which the fibres are neither stiff nor rod-like

Plant fibres distort to curved or kinked shapes during injection moulding, while glass fibres are relatively stiff and remain rod-like. The consequences of these differences were investigated for an example of wood fibre prepared by thermomechanical pulping to reinforce polypropylene in tensile test specimens. Krenchel’s orientation factor increased with distance from the gate, reaching values similar to those published for glass-reinforced plastic. Halpin–Tsai and Mori–Tanaka micromechanical models predicted the tensile modulus within ±7% at low strain, despite implicit and incorrect assumptions of rod-like shape. Both models assumed elastic reinforcement with perfect fibre–matrix bonding, and therefore overestimated the tensile stress at higher strains.     

The effect of crosslinker on mechanical and morphological properties of tropical wood material composites

In this study, wood polymer composites (WPCs) based on five kinds of selected tropical wood species, namely Jelutong (Dyera costulata), Terbulan (Endospermum diadenum), Batai (Paraserianthes moluccana), Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis), and Pulai (Alstonia pneumatophora), were impregnated with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDIC) monomers mixture in the ratio of 1:1 for composite manufacturing. All these tropical wood reacted with hexamethylene diisocyanate and crosslinked with MMA which enhanced the hydrophobic (restrained water) nature of wood. The vacuum-pressure method was used to impregnate the samples with monomer mixture. The monomer mixture loading achievable was found to be dependent on the properties of wood species. Low loading was observed for the high density wood species. Mechanical strength of fabricated wood polymer composites (WPCs) in term of modulus of elasticity (MOE) and modulus of rupture (MOR) were found to be significantly improved. The wood–polymer interaction was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Morphological properties of raw wood and WPC samples were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and XRD analysis and an improvement in morphological properties was also observed for WPC.     

Influence of single-walled carbon nanotubes on the effective elastic constants of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most extensively used thermoplastic polyesters out on the market, and it has been implemented in many forms. There has been limited work in the area of PET reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) in mechanical properties. Nanocomposites based on PET with small contents of SWCNT were prepared by in situ polymerization. Elastic constants were determined by tensile tests performed on specimens instrumented with strain gauges. Assuming random orientation distribution of nanotubes, experimental Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio values were compared to some micromechanical models (Cox and Krenchel, Halpin–Tsai and Mori–Tanaka) which take into account orientation and aspect ratio of the nanotubes. However, the waviness of the nanotubes is a factor that influences the reinforcing efficiency.     

Creep behavior and manufacturing parameters of wood flour filled polypropylene composites

The influence of wood flour content, coupling agent and stress loading level on the creep behavior of wood flour–polypropylene composites was investigated. Maleated polypropylene (MAPP; Epolene G-3003™) was used as the coupling agent to treat the wood flour used as reinforcing filler for polypropylene composite. The tensile strength and modulus of various wood flour–polypropylene composites (WPCs), manufactured using the melt blending, extrusion, and palletizing methods, were measured before performing the creep test. The residual tensile strength, creep strain, and fractional deflection of the resultant wood flour–polypropylene composites were measured by means of the creep test. It was shown that the tensile strength decreased with increasing wood flour level in the composites. The creep strain also decreased as the wood flour level increased. The presence of the coupling agent increased the tensile strength of the wood flour–polypropylene composites, compared with the specimens made of pure polypropylene. For those composites containing the coupling agent, the creep deflection was significantly lower than those made without any coupling agent. The creep strains of the WPC specimens observed during the creep test fitted perfectly with the four-element burger creep model. Further investigation is required of the effects of combined mechanical and environmental loading in varying proportions.     

Mechanical and interfacial properties of wood and bio-based thermoplastic composite

The aim of this investigation was to study a new family of wood polymer composites with thermoplastic elastomer matrix (pebax® copolymers) instead of commonly used WPC matrices. These copolymers are polyether-b-amide thermoplastic elastomers which present an important elongation at break and a melting point below 200 °C to prevent wood fibers degradation during processing. Moreover these polymers are synthesized from renewable resources and they present a hydrophilic character which allow them to interact with wood fibers. We have used two pebax® grade with different hardness and three types of wood fibers, so the influence of the matrix and wood fibers characteristics were evaluated. Composites were produced using a laboratory-size twin screw extruder to obtain composite pellets prior to injection moulding into tensile test samples. We have evaluated fibers/matrix interaction by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared spectroscopy (IRTF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Then, the mechanical properties, through tensile test, were assessed. We also observed fibers dispersion into the matrix by tomography X. DSC, IRTF and SEM measurements confirmed the presence of strong interface interactions between polymer and wood. These interactions lead to good mechanical properties of the composites with a reinforcement effect of wood fibers due also to a good dispersion of fibers into the matrix without agglomerate.     

Influence of refiner fibre quality and fibre modification treatments on properties of injection-moulded beech wood–plastic composites

Thermo-mechanical pulp (TMP) fibres made from beech wood were produced using increasing refiner gap widths and thus with increasing fibre length and coarseness. Fibres (60% by weight) were compounded in an internal kneading mixer using high-density polyethylene as the matrix and injection-moulded. Fibre lengths and length/width ratios were determined (a) before processing and (b) after injection-moulding and Soxhlet extraction using the optical FibreShape system. An increase in fibre length resulted in a decrease in water absorption and an improvement in flexural strength and modulus of elasticity of the wood–plastic composites (WPC). However, flexural strength of the WPC with TMP fibres was not improved compared to WPC with wood flour when maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene (MAPE) was used as a coupling agent. After injection-moulding, differences in length of the various TMP fibre types were minor. Fibre geometry before processing strongly influences the water absorption and flexural properties of the composite. Fibre treatment with emulsified methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (EMDI) resin before compounding was shown to be equally efficient in reducing water absorption and improving flexural strength as the addition of MAPE during the compounding step.     

Effect of TiO2 and nanoclay on the properties of wood polymer nanocomposite

High density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with Phragmiteskarka wood flour (WF) and polyethylene-co-glycidyl methacrylate (PE-co-GMA) was used to develop wood polymer composite (WPC) by solution blending method. The effect of addition of nanoclay and TiO₂ on the properties of the composite was examined. The exfoliation of silicate layers and dispersion of TiO₂ nanopowder was studied by X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. The improvement in miscibility among polymers due to addition of compatibilizer was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). WPC treated with 3 phr each of clay and TiO₂ showed an improvement in thermal stability. Mechanical, UV resistance and flame retarding properties were also enhanced after the incorporation of clay/TiO₂ nanopowder to the composites. Both water and water vapor absorption were found to decrease due to inclusion of nanoclay and TiO₂ in WPC.     

Analysis of tensile and flexural modulus in hemp strands/polypropylene composites

This research focuses on the behavior of the tensile and flexural modulus of polypropylene/hemps strands composites. The intrinsic tensile modulus of the hemp strands was computed using Hirsch model and experimental data of the tensile modulus of the polypropylene composites at the 20–50 wt.% hemp strands content. The modified rule of mixtures was used to evaluate the efficiency factor. Square packing distribution was assumed and the length factor was fixed by Cox–Krenchel’s model. The mean value of the orientation efficiency factor was found to be 0.55. Tensile and flexural modulus were compared concluding that its value was independent of the manner the composite was loaded. Finally the Tsai–Pagano model was applied to predict the behavior of the composite’s tensile modulus.     

Influence of water ageing on mechanical properties and damage events of two reinforced composite materials: Flax–fibres and glass–fibres

Moisture absorption and durability in water environment are major concerns for natural fibres as reinforcement in composites. This paper presents a study on the influence of water ageing on mechanical properties and damage events of flax–fibre composites, compared with glass–fibre composites. The effects of the immersion treatment on the tensile characteristics, water absorption and acoustic emission (AE) recording were investigated. The water absorption results for the flax–fibre composites show that the evolution appears to be Fickian and the saturated weight gain is 12 times as high that the glass–fibre composites. Decreasing continuously with increasing water immersion time, the tensile modulus and the failure strain of flax–fibre composites are hardly affected by water ageing whereas only the tensile stress is reduced regarding the glass–fibre composites. AE indicate that matrix–fibres interface weakening is the main damage mechanism induced by water ageing for both composites.     

Mechanisms and impact of fiber–matrix compatibilization techniques on the material characterization of PHBV/oak wood flour engineered biobased composites

Fully biobased composite materials were fabricated using a natural, lignocellulosic filler, namely oak wood flour (OWF), as particle reinforcement in a biosynthesized microbial polyester matrix derived from poly(β-hydroxybutyrate)-co-poly(β-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) via an extrusion injection molding process. The mechanisms and effects of processing, filler volume percent (vol%), a silane coupling agent, and a maleic anhydride (MA) grafting technique on polymer and composite morphologies and tensile mechanical properties were investigated and substantiated through calorimetry testing, scanning electron microscopy, and micromechanical modeling of initial composite stiffness. The addition of 46 vol% silane-treated OWF improved the tensile modulus of neat PHBV by 165%. Similarly, the tensile modulus of MA-grafted PHBV increased 170% over that of neat PHBV with a 28 vol% addition of untreated OWF. Incorporation of OWF reduced the overall degree of crystallinity of the matrix phase and induced embrittlement in the composites, which led to reductions in ultimate tensile stress and strain for both treated and untreated specimens. Deviations from the Halpin–Tsai/Tsai–Pagano micromechanical model for composite stiffness in the silane and MA compatibilized specimens are attributed to the inability of the model both to incorporate improved dispersion and wettability due to fiber–matrix modifications and to account for changes in neat PHBV and MA-grafted PHBV polymer morphology induced by the OWF.     

The utilization of bamboo charcoal enhances wood plastic composites with excellent mechanical and thermal properties

In order to enhance the mechanical properties and thermal properties of wood plastic composites (WPCs), bamboo charcoal (BC) was used as reinforcing filler of WPC, and a series of BC-WPC composites were prepared. The effect of BC and water treatment on water absorptions, morphologies, mechanical properties, the effect of water treatment on mechanical properties and thermal properties of the composites were investigated. The results showed that BC could have strong interfacial interaction in the WPC. The water resistance, flexural properties, tensile properties and thermal properties of BC-WPC were higher than WPC. The flexural and tensile properties were reduced and the impact strength was increased after water treatment. The presence of BC resists the influence of water absorption on composites mechanical properties.     

The effect of pre-softened wood chips on wood fibre aspect ratio and mechanical properties of wood–polymer composites

The objective of this work was to study the effect of chemical pre-treatment and moisture content of wood chips on the wood particle aspect ratio after compounding in a twin-screw extruder and on the mechanical properties of wood–polymer composites (WPCs). Composites with 50 wt.% wood content were manufactured using pre-treated and untreated wood chips. The effect of wood moisture content on composite properties was studied by using dried and undried wood chips. The mechanical properties and fracture surfaces of the composites as well as the microstructure and aspect ratio of wood particles after compounding were studied. The highest wood particle aspect ratio after extrusion was achieved by using pre-treated, undried wood chips as raw material. The chemical pre-treatment was found to enhance the defibration of wood chips as well as the mechanical properties of the composites.     

Wood cellulose biocomposites with fibrous structures at micro- and nanoscale

High-strength composites from wood fiber and nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) were prepared in a semi-automatic sheet former. The composites were characterized by tensile tests, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and porosity measurements. The tensile strength increased from 98 MPa to 160 MPa and the work to fracture was more than doubled with the addition of 10% NFC to wood fibers. A hierarchical structure was obtained in the composites in the form of a micro-scale wood fiber network and an additional NFC nanofiber network linking wood fibers and also occupying some of the micro-scale porosity. Deformation mechanisms are discussed as well as possible applications of this biocomposites concept.     

Biological performance of wood–plastic composites containing zinc borate: Laboratory and 3-year field test results

Six different formulations of wood–plastic composites (WPC) fabricated from wood and polypropylene (PP) were tested in the laboratory against decay and termites and in a protected above-ground field test in southern Japan. Variables examined included comparisons of untreated and zinc borate (ZnB) incorporated formulations, wood content ratio, wood particle size and increased surface area via surface grooves (channels) to promote moisture infusion. A standard method originally designed to test durability of solid wood was modified for testing WPC. Wood decay fungi and Formosan subterranean termite activity in laboratory and field tests resulted in different mass losses, post-decay moisture contents and field test ratings depending on their wood and ZnB content. The results show that as wood content increased, mass losses also increased. Addition of ZnB at 1% (w/w) retention level significantly decreased mass losses of wood–plastic composite when exposed to laboratory decay and termite tests. The effects of surface grooves and wood particle size were less important, compared to wood particle content. All WPC tested were highly resistant to fungal decay under protected above-ground field conditions during 36 months. Termite attack, on the other hand, started at earlier stage reducing mean ratings 1 year after the installation.