Mechanical properties and injection molding processability of glass fiber modified polylactic acid composites

Abstract

In order to promote the development and application of environment-friendly plastics, a glass fiber-modified starch/polylactic acid composite was prepared by the melt extrusion method. The influence of glass fiber content on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composite was studied, and multi-objective optimization of the injection molding process was carried out with consideration of the influence of material properties. The results show that with the increase of glass fiber content from 0 to 5%, the tensile strength of the composite decreases first and then increases to an average of 60Mpa, which is about 30% higher than that of pure polylactic acid. The elastic modulus and thermal stability increase, while the elongation at break and flow rate decrease with the increase of glass fiber content. In addition, the optimized injection parameters are obtained, which can effectively reduce the warping deformation, volume shrinkage, and residual stress of injection parts. Glass fiber modified starch/polylactic acid composites show great potential in engineering application, and may provide a reference for the development and application of high-performance and green degradable materials.