Influence of the fiber content and the processing conditions on the flexural creep behavior of sisal-PCL-starch composites

Flexural creep tests were performed on sisal-fiber-PCL (polycaprolactone -starch composites at different temperatures. The creep compliance increased with the increase of temperature and with the decrease of the fiber content. However, the fragmentation of the polymer macromolecules and the natural fiber fragmentation have influence on the creep behavior. The curves of compliance versus time were shifted along the logarithmic time scale to develop a creep master curve. Activation energy was determined from the shift factors. A four-parameter model was applied in order to quantify the viscoelastic behavior of the composites.