Evaluation of the Strength of the Interface for Abaca Fiber Reinforced Hdpe and Biope Composite Materials, and Its Influence over Tensile Properties

Abstract

In this study, tensile properties of abaca-reinforced HDPE and BioPE composites have been researched. The strength of the interface between the matrix and the reinforcement of a composite material noticeably impacts its mechanical properties. Thus, the strength of the interface between the reinforcements and the matrices has been studied using micromechanics models. Natural fibers are hydrophilic and the matrices are hydrophobic, resulting in weak interfaces. In the study, a coupling agent based on polyethylene functionalised with maleic acid was used, to increase the strength of the interface. The results show that 8 wt% coupling agent contents noticeably increased the tensile strength of the composites and the interface. Tensile properties obtained for HDPE and BioPE-based coupled composites were statistically similar or better for BioPE-based materials. The use of bio-based matrices increases the possibility of decreasing the environmental impact of the materials, obtaining fully bio-based composites. The article shows the ability of fully bio-based composites to replace others using oil-based matrices.

Upcycling of HDPE Milk Bottles into High-Stiffness, High-HDT Composites with Pineapple Leaf Waste Materials

“…The addition of MAPE did not significantly improve the modulus of the composite, which contradicts the findings in many literature sources [ 38 , 61 , 64 ]. Surprisingly, the composite exhibited a slightly lower modulus than its counterpart without MAPE.…”

“…Apparent moduli for PALF and NFM were calculated by linear curve fitting and the value extrapolated to reinforcement volume fraction of unity to 10.82 and 5.47 GPa, respectively. The apparent modulus for PALF obtained here is slightly less than 11.70 for Abaca fiber in rHDPE system containing MAPE at 8 wt.% [ 61 ]. However, it should be noted that the rHDPE/Abaca fiber samples were prepared by injection molding, in which there could be significant contribution from matrix orientation.…”

“…where E c is the elastic modulus of the composite, E m is the modulus of the matrix, E f is the modulus of the fiber, V f is the fiber volume fraction, and η l is the shear lag factor or modulus adjustment variable for the short fiber, which includes parameters such as the shape, orientation, and arrangement of the fiber. The fiber contribution term to composite modulus in Equation ( 1) may be visualized in two ways, i.e., an apparent fiber volume fraction, which is product of η l V f [33] or an apparent fiber modulus, the product of η l E f of the reinforcing short-fiber composite that is equivalent to its continuous fiber counterpart [61]. For simplicity and comparison, the latter will be considered first.…”

“…The fiber contribution term to composite modulus in Equation (1) may be visualized in two ways, i.e., an apparent fiber volume fraction, which is product of η l V f [ 33 ] or an apparent fiber modulus, the product of η l E f of the reinforcing short-fiber composite that is equivalent to its continuous fiber counterpart [ 61 ]. For simplicity and comparison, the latter will be considered first.…”

Methodologies to Evaluate the Micromechanics Flexural Strength Properties of Natural-Fiber-Reinforced Composites: The Case of Abaca-Fiber-Reinforced Bio Polyethylene Composites

“…Previous research has focused on the use of Musa Textilis (abaca) as reinforcement in HDPE and BioPE composite materials, evaluating the tensile strength, tensile stiffness, and micromechanical characteristics of the composites [ 26 , 27 ]. These studies confirmed that, as expected, these materials exhibit superior mechanical properties compared to the matrix [ 28 , 29 ].…”