ZnO Treatment on Mechanical Behavior of Polyethylene/Yellow Birch Fiber Composites When Exposed to Fungal Wood Rot.

Wood plastic composite (WPC) usage and demand have increased because of its interesting chemical and mechanical properties compared to other plastic materials. However, there is a possibility of structural and mechanical changes to the material when exposed to the external environment; most research on wood plastic is performed on the material with elevated fiber content (40-70%). Therefore, more research needs to be performed regarding these issues, especially when the fiber content of the WPC is low.

Implementation and Characterization of a Laminate Hybrid Composite Based on Palm Tree and Glass Fibers.

In this work, laminated polyester thermoset composites based on palm tree fibers extracted from palms leaflets and glass mats fibers were manufactured to develop hybrid compositions with good mechanical properties; the mixture of fibers was elaborated to not exceed 25 vol.%. Samples were prepared with a resin transfer molding (RTM) method and mechanically characterized using tensile and flexural, hardness, and impact tests, and ultrasonic waves as a non-destructive technique.

Investigation on the Thermoforming of Pmsq-Hdpe for the Manufacture of a NACA Profile of Small Dimensions.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are attracting increasing interest in the aviation industry, both for military and civilian applications. The materials used so far in the manufacture of UAVs are wood, plastic, aluminum and carbon fiber. In this regard, a new family of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) nanocomposites reinforced with polymethylsilsesquioxane nanoparticles (PMSQ), with mechanical performances significantly superior to those of pure HPDE, has been prepared by a fusion-combination process.

Mechanical Properties, Wettability and Thermal Degradation of HDPE/Birch Fiber Composite.

Wood-plastic composites have emerged and represent an alternative to conventional composites reinforced with synthetic carbon fiber or glass fiber-polymer. A wide variety of wood fibers are used in WPCs including birch fiber. Birch is a common hardwood tree that grows in cool areas such as the province of Quebec, Canada.

Reliability of Free Inflation and Dynamic Mechanics Tests on the Prediction of the Behavior of the Polymethylsilsesquioxane-High-Density Polyethylene Nanocomposite for Thermoforming Applications.

Numerical modeling of the thermoforming process of polymeric sheets requires precise knowledge of the viscoelastic behavior under conjugate effect pressure and temperature. Using two different experiments, bubble inflation and dynamic mechanical testing on a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) nanocomposite reinforced with polymethylsilsesquioxane HDPE (PMSQ-HDPE) nanoparticles, material constants for Christensen's model were determined by the least squares optimization. The viscoelastic identification relative to the inflation test seemed to be the most appropriate for the numerical study of thermoforming of a thin PMSQ-HDPE part.

Impact of TEMPO-oxidization strength on the properties of cellulose nanofibril reinforced polyvinyl acetate nanocomposites.

Nanocomposites of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) reinforced with two different TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) were prepared by casting/evaporation method. These two sets of CNF, designed as CNF-O-5min (5min of oxidation) and CNF-O-120min (120min of oxidation), are different by their surface charge, geometrical characteristics and crystallinity index. The weight fraction of CNF was changed from 1 to 10wt%.

Damage Characterization of Bio and Green Polyethylene-Birch Composites under Creep and Cyclic Testing with Multivariable Acoustic Emissions.

Despite the knowledge gained in recent years regarding the use of acoustic emissions (AEs) in ecologically friendly, natural fiber-reinforced composites (including certain composites with bio-sourced matrices), there is still a knowledge gap in the understanding of the difference in damage behavior between green and biocomposites. Thus, this article investigates the behavior of two comparable green and biocomposites with tests that better reflect real-life applications, , load-unloading and creep testing, to determine the evolution of the damage process. Comparing the mechanical results with the AE, it can be concluded that the addition of a coupling agent (CA) markedly reduced the ratio of AE damage to mechanical damage.