Alkali treatment coupled with high pressure defibrillation and acid treatment have been tried on banana fibers obtained from the pseudo stem of the banana plant Musa sapientum. The structure and morphology of the fibers have been found to be affected on the basis of the concentration of the alkali and acid and also on the pressure applied. Steam explosion in alkaline medium followed by acidic medium is found to be effective in the depolymerization and defibrillation of the fiber to produce banana nanowhiskers. The chemical constituents of raw and steam exploded fibers were analyzed according to the ASTM standards. Structural analysis of steam exploded fibers was carried out by FTIR and XRD. The fiber diameter and percentage crystallinity of the modified fibers were investigated using X-ray diffraction studies. Characterization of the fibers by SFM and TEM supports the evidence for the development of nanofibrils of banana fibers.

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The filling process of a micro‐cavity was analyzed by modeling the compressible filling stage by using pressure‐dependent viscosity and adjusted heat transfer coefficients. Experimental filling studies were carried out at the same time on an accurately controlled microinjection molding machine. On the basis of the relationship between the injection pressure and the filling degree, essential factors for the quality of the simulation can be identified. It can be shown that the flow behavior of the melt in a micro‐cavity with a high aspect ratio is extremely dependent on the melt compressibility in the injection cylinder. This phenomenon needs to be considered in the simulation to predict an accurate flow rate. The heat transfer coefficient between the melt and the mold wall that was determined by the reverse engineering varies significantly even during the filling stage. With increasing injection speed and increasing cavity thickness, the heat transfer coefficient decreases. It is believed that the level of the cavity pressure is responsible for the resulting heat transfer between the polymer and the mold. A pressure‐dependent model for the heat transfer coefficient would be able to significantly improve the quality of the process simulation. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers