Seawater degradation resistance of straw fiber-reinforced polyvinyl chloride composites

Abstract

To investigate the effect of seawater degradation on the mechanical, wear, and thermal properties of plant fiber-reinforced polymer composites, the seawater immersion test was performed on four types of straw fiber (wheat straw (WS), rice straw (RS), corn straw (CS), and sorghum straw (SS))-reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites. The results revealed that seawater immersion would result in poor mechanical, wear, and thermal properties, and lower two-phase bonding quality, thermal mass loss, and thermal residual mass, as well as more serious abrasive wear. The SS/PVC and CS/PVC composites had the highest and lowest seawater degradation resistance, respectively. After 12 d seawater immersion, the tensile strength of the SS/PVC and CS/PVC composites decreased from 17.3 to 9.7 MPa and from 12.3 to 7.2 MPa, respectively; and the flexural strength of the SS/PVC and CS/PVC composites decreased from 34.2 to 20.1 MPa and from 28.0 to 15.3 MPa, respectively. However, the friction coefficient of the SS/PVC and CS/PVC composites increased from 0.21 to 0.27 and from 0.24 to 0.30, respectively; and the specific wear rate of the SS/PVC and CS/PVC composites increased from 0.73 × 10-5 mm3/N·m to 21.7 × 10-5 mm3/N·m and from 1.77 × 10-5 to 28.3 × 10-5 mm3/N·m.

Effect of coupling agents on properties of vegetable fiber polymeric composites: review

“…The thermoplastic polymer do not form crosslinks, melts completely when a specific temperature is applied and are recyclable, while the thermoset resins are low-molecular-weight molecules, which form crosslinks in the curing process, promoting chemical bonding between macromolecular chains and creating a three-dimensional network, the cure process is irreversible and thermoset cannot be recycled by thermal action [46][47][48] . Among the thermoplastic polymers used as matrix, polyethylene (PE) [49] , polypropylene (PP) [50] , polyvinyl chloride (PVC) [51] , and polystyrene (PS) [52] stand out. Among the thermoset polymers, polyurethane (PU) [53] , epoxies [54] , and polyesters [55] are commonly used.…”

Reliability Study of Wood–Plastic Composites Based on Probabilistic Finite Elements

“…A reliability study was conducted on a wood–plastic composite hull, and the limit state equation of the composite-reinforced panel material was proposed [ 14 , 15 ]; the effects of the coupling agent, test frequency and stress ratio on the fatigue life and reliability of wood–plastic composite panels used in footbridges were investigated experimentally [ 16 ]. The surface properties and structural strength of colored wood–plastic composites were studied under the corrosive environment of seawater, and the relationship between the coloring pigments and the reliability of the wood–plastic composites was analyzed [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. The fatigue analysis and reliability of polypropylene (PP)/wood flour (WF) composites were investigated, and it was suggested that the fatigue life obtained from the lower 95% confidence limit can be used as a material reliability index for the safe fatigue design of composites [ 20 , 21 ].…”