Journal
COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Volume 152, Issue -, Pages 129-138Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2017.09.008
Keywords
Biocomposite; Natural fibers; Mechanical properties; Fiber/matrix bond; Analytical modeling
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Natural fibers are not as rigid as glass or carbon fibers. During composites extrusion and injection molding, they tend to bend and twist in the polymeric matrix, thus resulting in fiber waviness and decreased mechanical properties of natural fiber composites. The most widely used models for the estimation of interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and elastic modulus, which consider the fiber aspect ratio and mechanical properties of the fiber and matrix, do not consider these important features. In order to account for fiber waviness, an effective fiber length is proposed in this paper. The undulation of the fibers is approximated with a sinusoidal arc along with a calculated new length. The proposed correction factor depends on the wavelength and amplitude of the wave approximating the fiber. To verify this method, blends of polylactic acid (PLA) and polycarbonate (PC) (prepared with and without an interchange reactions catalyst) with addition to various percentages of cellulosic fibers (5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15 wt%) have been prepared and characterized. It has been demonstrated that by considering the corrected length values, it is possible to predict the mechanical properties and the effective reinforcement attained in the composites by using the most widely used models. In particular, the prediction of the elastic modulus is slightly affected by this correction, whereas the calculation of IFSS is strongly dependent on it. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available