This study deals with the fabrication of composite matrix from saw dust (SD) and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at different ratio (w/w) by flat-pressed method. The wood plastic composites (WPCs) were made with a thickness of 6 mm after mixing the saw dust and PET in a rotary type blender followed by flat press process. Physical i.e., density, moisture content (MC), water absorption (WA) and thickness swelling (TS), and mechanical properties i.e., Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR) were assessed as a function of mixing ratios according to the ASTM D-1037 standard. WA and TS were measured after 24 hours of immersion in water at 25, 50 and 75°C temperature. It was found that density decreased 18.3% when SD content increased from 40% to 70% into the matix. WA and TS increased when the PET content decreased in the matrix and the testing water temperature increased. MOE and MOR were reached to maximum for the fabricated composites (2008.34 and 27.08 N/mm2, respectively) when the SD content were only 40%. The results indicated that the fabrication of WPCs from sawdust and PET would technically feasible; however, the use of additives like coupling agents could further enhance the properties of WPCs.
Poly(propylene) (PP) matrix jute fiber reinforced composites were prepared by compression molding. Tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), percentage elongation at break (Eb%), bending strength (BS), bending modulus (BM), impact strength (IS) and hardness of the prepared composites (50% fiber by weight) were found to be 45 MPa, 2305 MPa, 12%, 52 MPa, 4267 MPa, 18 kJ/m2 and 95 shore-A, respectively. Non-vulcanized natural rubber (NR) was blended (10—50% by weight) with PP using extruder, and films (PP + NR) were prepared by heat press for composite fabrication. Jute fiber reinforced blended PP + NR based composites (50% fiber by weight) were fabricated and characterized. It was found that TS, TM, BS, BM and hardness of the composites were decreased with the increase of NR in PP but IS and Eb% were improved significantly.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.