Modeling the Stiffness of Coupled and Uncoupled Recycled Cotton Fibers Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

Serrà, Albert; Tarrés, Quim; Chamorro, Miquel Àngel; Soler, Jordi Soler; Mutjé, Pere; Espinach, Francesc X.; Vilaseca, Fabiola

doi:10.3390/polym11101725

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The values obtained for the modulus efficiency factor are in the range between 0.47 and 0.49. These values can be considered reasonable as they are in line with the literature [ 61 , 62 ]. However, the values show how only around 50% of the stiffening capabilities of the reinforcement is exploited.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Interface Strength and Fiber Content Influence on Corn Stover Fibers Reinforced Bio-Polyethylene Composites Stiffness

2021

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Stiffness of material is a key parameter that allows the use of material for structural or semi-structural purposes. Besides, lightweight materials are increasingly calling the attention of the industry. Environmental impact is also increasing in its importance. Bio-based materials produced from renewable sources can be good candidates for structural purposes combining lightweight and low environmental impact. Nonetheless, similar mechanical properties of commodities have to be reached with such materials. In this work, composite materials from corn stover fibers as a bio-polyethylene reinforcement were produced and tested. The effect of coupling agents to improve the fiber–matrix interface has been evaluated. It has been found that coupling agent content influenced the stiffness of the materials, increasing the Young’s modulus and the material processability. The best performance was achieved for a 6% of coupling agent, corresponding to 4.61 GPa for 50 w/w% of corn stover fibers. Micromechanics showed the impact of the semi-random orientation of the fibers and the lesser impact of its morphology. It was possible to determine a triangular packing of the composites as a hypothesis for future research.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

Interface Strength and Fiber Content Influence on Corn Stover Fibers Reinforced Bio-Polyethylene Composites Stiffness

2021

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“…The modulus efficiency factor was found inside the usual range for short, semi-aligned natural fibers, which is 0.4–0.56 [ 67 ]. Thereby, the value indicated that the composites took advantage of the stiffening capability of natural fibers, though with room for improvement.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stiffening Potential of Lignocellulosic Fibers in Fully Biobased Composites: The Case of Abaca Strands, Spruce TMP Fibers, Recycled Fibers from ONP, and Barley TMP Fibers

et al. 2021

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Biocomposites are composite materials where at least the matrix or the reinforcement phases are obtained from natural and renewable resources. Natural fibers for composite preparation can be obtained from annual plants, wood, recycled products, or agroforestry waste. The present work selected abaca strands, spruce fibers, recycled fibers from old newspaper, and barley fibers as raw materials to produce biocomposites, in combination with a biobased polyethylene. One very important feature in material science and for industrial applications is knowing how a material will deform under load, and this characteristic is represented by Young’s modulus. Therefore, in this work, the stiffness and deformation of the biocomposites were determined and evaluated using macromechanics and micromechanics analyses. Results were compared to those of conventional synthetic composites reinforced with glass fibers. From the micromechanics analysis, the intrinsic Young modulus of the reinforcements was obtained, as well as other micromechanics parameters such as the modulus efficiency and the length and orientation factors. Abaca strands accounted for the highest intrinsic modulus. One interesting outcome was that recycled fibers exhibited similar Young’s moduli to wood fibers. Finally, agroforestry waste demonstrated the lowest stiffening potential. The study explores the opportunity of using different natural fibers when specific properties or applications are desired.

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“…One of the simplest methods used to express the contribution of the phases to the material's strength is by using the modified Rule of Mixtures (mRoM) [63,64]. The model was initially developed to be applied to tensile properties, though, it can also be extended to flexural ones.…”

Section: Intrinsic Flexural Strength Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility of Barley Straw Fibers as Reinforcement in Fully Biobased Polyethylene Composites: Macro and Micro Mechanics of the Flexural Strength

et al. 2020

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Awareness on deforestation, forest degradation, and its impact on biodiversity and global warming, is giving rise to the use of alternative fiber sources in replacement of wood feedstock for some applications such as composite materials and energy production. In this category, barley straw is an important agricultural crop, due to its abundance and availability. In the current investigation, the residue was submitted to thermomechanical process for fiber extraction and individualization. The high content of holocellulose combined with their relatively high aspect ratio inspires the potential use of these fibers as reinforcement in plastic composites. Therefore, fully biobased composites were fabricated using barley fibers and a biobased polyethylene (BioPE) as polymer matrix. BioPE is completely biobased and 100% recyclable. As for material performance, the flexural properties of the materials were studied. A good dispersion of the reinforcement inside the plastic was achieved contributing to the elevate increments in the flexural strength. At a 45 wt.% of reinforcement, an increment in the flexural strength of about 147% was attained. The mean contribution of the fibers to the flexural strength was assessed by means of a fiber flexural strength factor, reaching a value of 91.4. The micromechanical analysis allowed the prediction of the intrinsic flexural strength of the fibers, arriving up to around 700 MPa, and coupling factors between 0.18 and 0.19, which are in line with other natural fiber composites. Overall, the investigation brightness on the potential use of barley straw residues as reinforcement in fully biobased polymer composites.

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Modeling the Stiffness of Coupled and Uncoupled Recycled Cotton Fibers Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

Cited by 13 publications

References 46 publications

Interface Strength and Fiber Content Influence on Corn Stover Fibers Reinforced Bio-Polyethylene Composites Stiffness

Interface Strength and Fiber Content Influence on Corn Stover Fibers Reinforced Bio-Polyethylene Composites Stiffness

Stiffening Potential of Lignocellulosic Fibers in Fully Biobased Composites: The Case of Abaca Strands, Spruce TMP Fibers, Recycled Fibers from ONP, and Barley TMP Fibers

Feasibility of Barley Straw Fibers as Reinforcement in Fully Biobased Polyethylene Composites: Macro and Micro Mechanics of the Flexural Strength

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