Physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of Dalbergia sissoo wood waste-filled poly(lactic acid) composites

The present work intended to investigate the effect of Dalbergia sissoo wood waste on physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based composites. The composite specimens, containing wood waste (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% by weight) mixed with PLA granules, were prepared by melt compounding. It was found that increased wood waste content resulted in higher modulus, porosity, and water absorption with decreased density, tensile strength, impact strength, and stress at break. Nevertheless, the flexural strength values of the composites were similar to unfilled PLA and they remained almost constant irrespective of the wood waste content. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis revealed that the presence of wood waste content increased the glass transition and cold crystallization temperature of the PLA composites. Moreover, the fractured surfaces of the composites were examined with a scanning electron microscope to study the possible failure mechanisms. The conducted investigations demonstrated that low-cost wood waste-based composites can be used as an environmentally and economically attractive substitute for lightweight applications.

Automated summary

The study found that increasing wood waste content resulted in certain properties of the composite materials increasing, such as modulus, porosity, and water absorption, while other properties decreased such as density, tensile strength, impact strength, and stress at break. However, the flexural strength of the composites remained relatively constant. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed that wood waste helped increase the glass transition and cold crystallization temperature of PLA composites.