Hybrid recycled glass fiber/wood flour thermoplastic composites: Manufacturing and mechanical characterization

Hybrid thermoplastic composites from wood flour and recycled glass fibers were manufactured through a two-step process involving a kinetic mixer and a compression molding machine. To evaluate the effect of recycled glass fibers, hybrid composites containing virgin glass fibers were also manufactured and tested. Mechanical properties of the composites including flexural modulus and strength, hardness as a function of temperature, screw withdrawal resistance and water absorption behavior were studied. The flexural modulus and hardness were found to increase as a function of increasing wood flour and glass fiber content, whilst the flexural strength and screw withdrawal resistance decreased as a function of increasing wood flour content, even though a positive effect of the addition of glass fibers was found. The recycled glass fibers showed comparable behavior to that of the virgin ones. A morphological analysis of hybrid composites to study the interfacial interactions was carried out by scanning electron microscopy. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.