Improving the mechanical performance of PLA composites with natural, man-made cellulose and glass fibers - a comparison to PP counterparts

In the first part of this study, the improvement of mechanical performance of composites based on polylactide in comparison to petrochemical polypropylene is presented. This approach focuses on understanding the micromechanical aspects of brittle and ductile failure mechanisms of composites with natural fiber abaca, man-made cellulose and glass fiber. The basic principal is hereby the utilization of cellulosic fibers in a biogenic matrix polymer and the comparison-to PP-based composites. The findings obtained in the first sections are the main essentials for the second part of this paper: further improvement of crash resistance of PLA composites. The main objective is to improve the mechanical parameters while the primarily targeting is on the impact strength of the brittle polylactide composites. In the course of his thesis, the ultimate proof of the reinforcing effects of cellulosic fibers was provided. Finally, a selective modification of the interphase was accomplished and accordingly, the highest known values of impact strength for PLA composites were achieved.