Mechanical and thermal behavior analysis of wood-polypropylene composites

Bio-based materials have attracted great attention due to their good mechanical properties, biodegradability, low cost, and easy processing, especially abundant resources. In this work, polypropylene (PP) composites reinforced with 15, 30 and 45 wt% wood powder (WP) were prepared by injection molding and their thermal, mechanical, and dynamic mechanical properties were characterized. It was found that the strength and modulus of the composite materials in the tensile and bending tests significantly increased, but the impact strength decreased. The dynamic mechanical test also showed that the storage modulus increased with the increase of WP content. WP endowed the composite material with rigidity and strength, but it was not good for toughness. Besides, the addition of WP did not change the crystal structure of the composites, while the degree of crystallinity decreased. WP-filled PP composites with stable mechanical and thermal properties have great potential to replace traditional glass fiber-reinforced composites in many fields such as construction, sports equipment, and the automotive industry.

Automated summary

This study prepared polypropylene composites filled with different contents of wood powder and characterized their properties. It was found that the addition of wood powder significantly increased the strength and modulus of the composites, but had a negative impact on impact strength. Dynamic mechanical testing showed that the storage modulus increased with the increase of wood powder content. Therefore, wood powder-filled polypropylene composites have the potential to replace traditional glass fiber-reinforced materials.