Correlation between the Mechanical Properties and the Amount of Desorbed Water for Composites Based on Low-Density Polyethylene and Linen Yarn Production Waste

The effect of the amount of desorbed water on the mechanical properties of composites based on low-density polyethylene and linen yarn production waste (LW) is analyzed by statistical methods. It is shown that the amount of absorbed water decreases during the desorption process at room temperature both for specimens modified and unmodified with diphenylmethane diisocyanate (DIC.) The most sensitive to the action of water is the elastic modulus, which decreases considerably under the effect of water and is fully restored in the desorption process. The tensile strain also increases with the amount of absorbed water. It is found that the elastic modulus of the unmodified composite correlates linearly with the amount of desorbed water. Between the amount of desorbed water and the tensile strain, as well the specific work of deformation, a negative linear correlation is revealed. After water desorption, all strength and deformation characteristics of both the modified and unmodified composites are fully recovered.__________Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 515–524, July–August, 2005.     

Effect of Water on the Physicomechanical Properties of Composites Containing Secondary Polyethylene and Linen Yarn Production Waste

The effect of the amount of absorbed water on the physicomechanical indices (tensile modulus, tensile strength, and ultimate strain) of composites based on secondary polyethylene (SPE) of two trademarks and linen yarn production waste (LW), both with and without a coupling agent (diphenylmetane diisocyanate - DIC), is evaluated. It is shown that the strength properties considerably depend on the time of water sorption and on the blend composition. The tensile strength decreases with increased amount of absorbed water (with increased time of exposure to distilled water) and with increased content of LW in the composites. This can be explained by the plasticizing effect of water molecules, which is confirmed by the increase in the ultimate strain of specimens after their exposure to water. The slight increase in the strength observed for the systems modified with DIC is probably caused by cross-linking of the free diisocyanate in the system under the action of moisture. The diisocyanate intensifies the interfacial interaction and retards the water-sorption process. Therefore, the resulting strength indices of these systems are higher than those of the unmodified compositions.     

Effect of Water on the Physicomechanical Properties of Composites Containing Low-Density Polyethylene and Linen Yarn Production Waste

The effect of the amount of absorbed water on the physicomechanical indices (tensile modulus and tensile strength) of composites based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linen yarn production waste (LW), both with and without coupling agents (stearic acid - SA and diphenylmetane diisocyanate - DIC), is studied. It is shown that the strength properties depend considerably on the time of water sorption and on the blend composition. The tensile strength decreases with increased amount of absorbed water (with increased time of exposure to distilled water) and with increased content of LW in the composite. Somewhat different results are obtained for systems containing SA and DIC modifiers. The modifiers, intensifying the interfacial interaction, retard the process of water sorption, therefore the drop in the strength indices is not so significant. Of special interest is the behavior of systems with DIC. In some cases, a slight increase in strength (after a two to five day exposure to water) is observed, which is probably caused by cross-linking of the free diisocyanate in the system under the action of moisture.     

Correlation between the mechanical properties and the amount of desorbed water for composites based on a recycled low-density polyethylene and linen yarn production waste

The effect of the amount of sorbed water on the mechanical properties (tensile modulus, tensile strength, unit work of fracture, and characteristic strains) of composites based on a recycled low-density polyethylene, both unmodified and modified with diphenylmethane diisocyanate (DIC), is an a lyzed by statistical methods. The results of tensile tests are found to depend on the amount of sorbed water considerably. The elastic modulus, the unit work of fracture, and the characteristic strains correlate linearly with the amount of water. It is found that the elastic modulus drops after the sorption of water, but then, during the desorption process, it is restored gradually and reaches its initial value after a 30-day drying. This is explained by the plasticizing effect of water on composite materials containing hydrophilic natural fibers. DIC improves the interfacial interaction of the fiber-matrix interface and slows down the desorption of water. The investigations of the main deformational and strength characteristics of the unmodified and modified systems showed that the ad verse effect of water completely disappeared after a 30-day drying. The same conclusion, with a 95% probability, can be drawn from the results of an analysis of variance (ANOVA). __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 626–638, September–October, 2007.