木粉/聚丙烯木塑复合泡沫材料吸能特性

采用模压法制备木粉/聚丙烯复合泡沫材料,并对不同木粉含量的泡沫材料进行静态压缩、循环压缩、压缩蠕变、动态热机械分析的测试,探讨了不同木粉含量的木粉/聚丙烯复合泡沫材料的能量吸收效果。结果表明: 随着木粉含量的增加,木粉/聚丙烯木塑复合泡沫材料的能量吸收量、能量吸收效率参数、松弛率、循环损耗量、动态力学性能等均呈先升后降的趋势,在木粉质量比为30%时泡沫材料吸能性能达到最佳。     

Studies of surface-modified wood flour/polypropylene composites

Wood flour (WF)/polypropylene (PP) composites have been made by extrusion and hot press compression molding. The composite water uptake and flexural properties were investigated. The composite fracture surfaces were studied by SEM. WF esterified with octanoyl chloride was used in WF/PP composites to improve the composites’ water resistance. Maleated polypropylene (MAPP) was also studied and compared with esterification by acid chlorides. Esterification by octanoyl chloride reduced the composite water uptake. However, the C₈ chain is still not long enough to form effective entanglements with the PP matrix. So, despite enhancements in hydrophobic interactions, flexural strengths and flexural moduli decreased. MAPP (MW = 47000) polymer chains can entangle with the matrix polypropylene molecules. Therefore, when MAPP’s maleic anhydride functions esterify WF surface hydroxyls, improved water resistance and composite flexural properties were achieved. The modifier chain length is of critical importance and more important than the surface density of hydrophobic groups for improving WF–PP interfacial adhesion and composite mechanical performance.     

纳米蒙脱土对木粉/聚丙烯复合材料发泡性能的影响

采用高压釜间歇式发泡法,结合超临界CO2微孔发泡技术制备了发泡木粉-纳米蒙脱土(NMMT)/聚丙烯(PP)复合材料.通过对复合材料的结晶行为、流变性能、泡孔形貌及压缩性能进行分析,主要研究了NMMT对其微孔结构及力学性能的改善作用.结果 表明:NMMT的引入使木粉/PP复合材料中PP基体的结晶速率加快,结晶度减小,有利...     

Effects of carbon nanotubes and its functionalization on the thermal and flammability properties of polypropylene/wood flour composites

In this article, pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and hydroxylated CNTs (CNT-OH) were employed to enhance the thermal stability and flame retardancy of polypropylene (PP)/wood flour composites (WPC) compatibilzed by maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA). Incorporating 10 wt% PP-g-MA only enhanced the mechanical and thermal properties to some extent, but did not improve the flame retardancy of WPC. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the thermal stability of WPC was further increased with the addition of CNTs or CNT-OH and the increase of their loading level. Cone calorimeter measurements suggested that CNTs and CNT-OH could effectively reduce the peak heat release rate (PHRR) of WPC, and the flame retardancy properties reached the optimum value when both of their loading was 1.0 wt%, for instance, a reduction in PHRR by 16.7% and 25% for CNTs and CNT-OH, respectively. In addition, CNT-OH conferred better flame retardancy on WPC relative to pristine CNTs due to the better interfacial adhesion with wood flour and PP matrix, which was evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations.     

Mechanical properties of wood flour/HDPE/ionomer composites

The structure and mechanical properties of wood flour composites with HDPE/ionomer blends as matrices were studied at a fixed wood loading of 60% by weight. It was found that toughness and strength properties of the composites can be improved significantly by adding ionomers of different types and contents. The enhancement in the interfacial interaction was observed through short-time creep analysis. The interfacial interaction and the structure of the matrix phase were characterized through the melting behavior using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and with small strain oscillatory tests on the melts using a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer. Both the sodium and zinc ionomers were found to be immiscible with the HDPE in matrix. The immiscible characteristic was correlated with the interfacial load transfer efficiency as revealed by the creep tests.     

Effects of maleated polypropylene on the morphology,thermal and mechanical properties of short carbon fiber reinforced polypropylene composites

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) on the properties of short carbon fiber (CF) reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites. The composites were prepared by melt blending and injection molding techniques at different percentages of CF. Tensile tests, hardness, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed to characterize the physical and morphological properties of the prepared composites. It was observed from SEM photographs that modification with PP-g-MAH improved the interfacial adhesion between the carbon fibers and PP matrix. The ultimate tensile strength, hardness and modulus values of modified PP composites were higher compared to the values of CF reinforced PP composites. Melting temperature of all composites was not changed significantly with increasing CF content; however degree of crystallinity values were decreased with the increasing CF content level.     

Processing,characterization and modeling of recycled polypropylene/glass fibre/wood flour composites

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most common thermoplastic materials in the world. There is a need to recycle the large amount of this used material. To overcome the environmental problems, related to the polymer waste, PP was recycled and used as a matrix material in different composites that can be used in high value applications. In this paper, composites made of recycled polypropylene (RPP) reinforced by glass fibres and/or wood flour of the palm tree were prepared, characterized and modeled. The mechanical and thermal properties of these recycled polymer matrix composites (RPMCs) were measured experimentally and modeled theoretically. The mechanical properties included tensile modulus, tensile strength and hardness, whereas thermal properties included thermal stability, melting and crystallinity percentage content were studied. In addition we applied the functionally graded materials concept, the elastic finite element analysis of a layered functionally graded pressurized pipe, which is one of the practical industrial applications, was accomplished in order to have some insight on the performance of such RPMCs. The results reveal that the desired mechanical and thermal properties met the requirements of a wide range of practical applications which can be attained by adding the considered fillers. Also, the proper selection of the layers of the pressurized pipe, which was made of RPMCs, led to decrease of the induced stresses and accordingly increased the operational safety.     

Date palm wood flour/glass fibre reinforced hybrid composites of recycled polypropylene: Mechanical and thermal properties

Recycled polypropylene (RPP) based hybrid composites of date palm wood flour/glass fibre were prepared by different weight ratios of the two reinforcements. Mixing process was carried out in an extruder and samples were prepared by injection molding machine. Recycled PP properties were improved by reinforcing it by wood flour. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of wood flour reinforced RPP increased further by adding glass fibre. Glass fibre reinforced composites showed higher hardness than other composites. Morphological studies indicated that glass fiber has good adhesion with recycled PP supporting the improvement of the mechanical properties of hybrid composites with glass fiber addition. Addition of as little 5 wt% glass fibre to wood flour reinforced RPP increases the tensile strength by about 18% relative to the wood flour reinforcement alone. An increase in wood particle content in the PP resulted in a decrease in the degree of crystallinity of the polymer. The tensile strength of the composites increased with an increase in the percentage of crystallinity when adding the glass fibre. The improvement in the mechanical properties with the increase in crystallinity percentage (and with the decrease of the lamellar thicknesses) can be attributed to the constrained region between the lamellae because the agglomeration is absent in this case.     

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.     

离子聚合物改性木粉/HDPE复合材料流变特性

为了提高木塑复合材料（WPC）的加工流动性能,利用离子聚合物改性WPC,通过HAAKE Minilab微量混合流变仪研究了离子聚合物改性木粉/高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）的毛细管流变特征。结果表明：添加与未添加离子聚合物的木粉/HDPE均为非牛顿流体中的假塑性流体,均呈现出“剪切变稀”的效应;随着钠离子聚合物含量的增加,改性木粉/HDPE的剪切应力和表观黏度均随着剪切速率的增大呈现降低的趋势,表明钠离子聚合物的加入可以显著改善聚合物熔体的流动特性;添加4wt%的钠离子聚合物和4wt%的锌离子聚合物的木粉/HDPE剪切应力和表观黏度均要低于添加4wt%的偶联剂马来酸酐接枝聚乙烯（MAH-g-PE）的WPC的值,表明与MAH-g-PE相比,离子聚合物更能够改善WPC的流动性能,减小熔体流动时HDPE与木粉之间的摩擦阻力;SEM分析表明,添加离子聚合物后HDPE塑料对木粉有很好的包覆效果,没有明显的界面缝隙,且在WPC断面上存在大量的毛刺纤维。     

Surface modification of wood flour and its effect on the properties of PP/wood composites

The surface of wood flour used as reinforcement in PP/wood composites was successfully modified by benzylation in NaOH solution of 20 wt% concentration at 105 °C. The time of the reaction was changed between 5 and 360 min in several steps. The progress of modification was followed by the measurement of weight increase and by diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT). The structure of the wood was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and its surface tension was determined by inverse gas chromatography (IGC). PP composites containing 20 wt% filler were prepared from a PP block copolymer and the modified wood flour. The mechanical behavior of the composites was characterized by tensile testing. The majority of the active hydroxyl groups at the surface were replaced by benzyl groups in about 2 h under the conditions used. Further increase in reaction time did not influence the properties of the filler. Both the structure of the wood flour and its surface tension changed as an effect of modification. The reduction of surface tension led to significant changes in all interactions between the wood flour and other substances resulting in a considerable decrease of water absorption, which is the major benefit of this modification. All measured mechanical properties of the composites decreased slightly with increasing degree of modification. A detailed analysis of the results proved that the dominating micromechanical deformation process of these PP/wood composites is debonding, which is further facilitated by the decrease in the surface tension of the filler. Chemical modification of wood flour slightly improved processability and the surface appearance of the composites prepared with them and considerably decreased the water absorption of these latter.     

Electrical properties of hybrid carbon black/carbon fiber polypropylene composites

The electrical conductivity and morphology of injection molded polypropylene based composites containing two conductive fillers, carbon black (CB) and carbon fibers (CF) were studied. Injection moldings containing both, CB and CF, where the content of each filler was above its own percolation threshold, resulted in similar or lower values of overall composite volume resistivity compared with the resistivity of systems filled only with CB at the corresponding content. However, the resistivity of two-filler systems is always higher than the resistivity of systems filled only with CF at the corresponding content. The morphology and fiber length analysis of the injection molded composites are quite intriguing. Fiber orientation in the injection molded two-filler systems was found to be almost perpendicular to the melt flow direction, with no significant skin-core fiber orientation patterns, contrary to the typically observed fiber orientation in injection molded fiber filled composites. Moreover, the CF breakage in the presence of the CB was found more intense than when just CF is used, resulting in shorter fibers with narrower length distributions. This unexpected fiber behavior is responsible for the unexpected electrical behavior. However, the coexistence of CB and CF electrically conductive networks, supporting each other, was confirmed, in spite of the mechanical disturbances caused by the presence of fibrilar and particulate fillers.     

Investigation of rheological and mechanical properties of wood flour reinforced polypropylene

This study aims to investigate the rheological and mechanical properties of polypropylene when reinforced by wood flour. In the study, wood flour (WF) was added as filling material to polypropylene (PP), and its effects were investigated. The grain size of the wood flour was 300 μm. Wood flour was mixed into polypropylene material at different rates of weight. Viscosity changes of the polypropylene at various temperatures and pressure values of the concentration rates were documented. As a result, viscosity increases as the amount of wood flour filling is increased; yet as temperature, pressure and shear rate are increased, viscosity decreases. The study also focuses on the changes in its mechanical properties of polypropylene reinforced with wood flour. The tensile strength of reinforced polypropylene at varying percentages (wt. 5 %, wt. 10 % and wt. 15 %) was observed to decrease by 11 %, 16 % and 21 %, respectively, compared to that of non‐reinforced polypropylene. Additionally, impact tests showed that the highest energy absorption was in 10 % wood flour reinforced polypropylene.     

Review of the mechanical properties of carbon nanofiber/polymer composites

In this paper, the mechanical properties of vapor grown carbon nanofiber (VGCNF)/polymer composites are reviewed. The paper starts with the structural and intrinsic mechanical properties of VGCNFs. Then the major factors (filler dispersion and distribution, filler aspect ratio, adhesion and interface between filler and polymer matrix) affecting the mechanical properties of VGCNF/polymer composites are presented. After that, VGCNF/polymer composite mechanical properties are discussed in terms of nanofibers dispersion and alignment, adhesion between the nanofiber and polymer matrix, and other factors. The influence of processing methods and processing conditions on the properties of VGCNF/polymer composite is also considered. At the end, the possible future challenges for VGCNF and VGCNF/polymer composites are highlighted.     

Flexural fatigue behaviour of carbon nanofiber/epoxy nanocomposites

In this research, the effect of adding carbon nanofibers (CNFs) on fatigue life of epoxy resin under flexural bending fatigue loading conditions was investigated. The fatigue tests of specimens were performed under displacement‐controlled bending loading at different displacement amplitudes at room temperature. Due to the addition of CNFs, a remarkable improvement in fatigue life of epoxy resin was observed. For instance, 24‐fold improvement in fatigue life for 0.25 wt% CNF/epoxy nanocomposites at a strength ratio of 0.43 observed in comparison with the neat epoxy resin.     

Thermal and tensile properties of aligned carbon nanofiber reinforced polypropylene

In the present study, vapor-grown carbon nanofibers with 0.5 wt.% loading were dry-mixed with polypropylene powder by mechanical means, and extruded into filaments by using a single screw extruder. TGA results showed that decomposition temperature has increased 18.9 °C by filling CNFs in polypropylene. Tensile results demonstrated that tensile modulus and tensile strength have increased by 154% and 69.5%, respectively. A SEM picture indicated that an increase in mechanical properties is due to the well dispersion and alignment of CNFs in the filaments.     

Synthesis, characterization and properties of carbon nanotubes microspheres from pyrolysis of polypropylene and maleated polypropylene

Microspheres assembled from carbon nanotubes (MCNTs), with the diameters ranging from 5.5 to 7.5 μm, were synthesized by means of pyrolysis of polypropylene and maleated polypropylene in an autoclave. The characterization of structure and morphology was carried out by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), (high resolution) transmission electron microscope [(HR)TEM)], selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) and Raman spectrum. As a typical morphology, the possible growth process of MCNTs was also investigated and discussed. The results of nitrogen adsorption-desorption indicate that the Brunauer-Emett-Teller (BET) surface area (140.6 m²/g) of the MCNTs obtained at 600 °C is about twice as that (74.5 m²/g) of carbon nanotubes obtained at 700 °C. The results of catalytic experiment show that MCNTs based catalyst has higher catalytic activity than the carbon nanotubes based catalyst for the preparation of methanol and dimethoxy-ethane by oxidation of dimethyl ether.     

木粉含量对木粉/酯化淀粉/聚乳酸复合材料性能影响

以甘油为相容剂,利用木粉、马来酸酐酯化淀粉和聚乳酸(PLA)进行熔融挤出制备了木粉/酯化淀粉/聚乳酸复合材料。利用XRD和SEM对复合材料的结晶度和断面形貌进行分析表征,以研究木粉含量对复合材料界面相容性的影响;并对复合材料的热稳定性、力学性能、流变性能以及吸水率进行表征。实验结果表明,随着木粉含量的增加,复合材料的界面相容性下降,拉伸强度和弯曲强度增大,断裂伸长率下降,吸水率逐渐增大;TGA测试结果表明木粉的加入使材料的热稳定性下降;流变测试表明木粉用量的增加,使复合材料的储能模量、损耗模量和复数粘度逐渐增加。     

Effect of various surface modifications of wood flour on the properties of PP/wood composites

Four different approaches were used for the modification of interfacial interactions in polypropylene (PP)/wood flour composites. We compare the effect of maleated polypropylene (MAPP), two surfactants (stearic acid and cellulose palmitate) and the chemical modification of wood (benzylation) on interfacial adhesion, homogeneity, processability and water absorption. Interfacial adhesion and reinforcement improves upon the addition of a maleated polymer as expected. Non-reactive surface modification leads to a moderate decrease of interaction, while benzylation decreases interfacial adhesion quite considerably. MAPP does not influence any other property of interest; homogeneity, viscosity and water absorption remain practically unchanged independently of the amount of coupling agent used. Surfactants improve homogeneity and processability, while the chemical modification of wood by benzylation decreases water absorption significantly. The results clearly prove that the proper selection of the approach and level of surface modification may lead to considerable improvement in targeted properties.     

Physical,mechanical and morphological properties of polymer composites manufactured from carbon nanotubes and wood flour

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate physical, mechanical and morphological properties of experimental polymer type panels made from single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and wood flour. The composites with different SWCNTs (0, 1, 2, 3 phc) and maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MAPE) (0 and 3 phc) contents were mixed by melt compounding in an internal mixer and then the composites manufactured by injection molding method. The mass ratio of the wood flour to LDPE was 50/50 (w/w) in all compounds. Water absorption, thickness swelling, bending characteristics, impact strength and morphological properties of the manufactured composites were evaluated. Based on the findings in this work the water absorption and thickness swelling of the nanocomposites decreased with increasing with amount of the SWCNTs (from 1 to 3 phc) and MAPE (3 phc) in the panels. The mechanical properties of LDPE/wood-flour composites could be significantly enhanced with increased percentage of MAPE and SWCNTs content. Panels having 2 phc SWCNTs and 3 phc MAPE exhibited the highest impact strength value. Also Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs showed that carbon nanotubes can fill the voids of wood plastic composites as well as addition of MAPE and SWCNTs enhanced interaction between the components.