Banana fiber/chemically functionalized polypropylene composites with in-situ fiber/matrix interfacial adhesion by Palsule process

Chemically functionalized maleic anhydride (MAH)-grafted polypropylene matrix has been used (in place of polypropylene as matrix with compatibilizer) to process banana fiber/chemically functionalized polypropylene (BF/CFPP) composites, without using any compatibilizer and without any fiber modification by Palsule process. Fiber/matrix interfacial adhesion generated, in-situ, due to interactions between BF and the MAH of the CFPP matrix has been established by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Mechanical properties of the BF/CFPP composites developed by Palsule process with in-situ fiber/matrix interfacial adhesion in this study have been found to be higher than those of the matrix and it increases with increasing amounts of fibers in composites, and are better than properties of literature reported BF/polypropylene composites processed with compatibilizers. Measured modulus of BF/CFPP composites compares well with values predicted by rule of mixtures, Hrisch model, Halpin-Tsai equations and its modified Nielsen version, and with Palsule equation. The feasibility of developing natural fiber/MAH grafted polyolefin composites by Palsule process without using any compatibilizer and without any fiber treatment is demonstrated.     

Effect of Polyethylene Functionalization on Mechanical Properties and Morphology of PE/SiO2 Composites

In this study composites of high density polyethylene (HDPE) with various SiO₂ content were prepared by melt compounding using maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (PE-g-MAH) as a compatibilizer. The composites containing 2, 4 and 6% by weight of SiO₂ particles were melt-blended in a co-rotating twin screw extruder. In all composites, polyethylene-graft-maleic anhydride copolymer (PE-g-MAH, with 0.85% maleic anhydride content) was added as a compatibilizer in the amount of 2% by weight. Morphology of inorganic silica filler precipitated from emulsion media was investigated. Mechanical properties and composite microstructure were determined by tensile tests and scanning electron microscopy technique (SEM). Tensile strength, yield stress, Young's modulus and elongation at break of PE/SiO₂ composites were mainly discussed against the properties of PE/PE-g-MAH/SiO₂ composites. The most pronounced increase in mechanical parameters was observed in Young's modulus for composites with polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride. The increase in the E-modulus of PE/PE-g-MAH/SiO₂composites was associated with the compatibility and improvement of interfacial adhesion between the polyethylene matrix and the nanoparticles, leading to an increased degree of particle dispersion. This finding was verified on the basis of SEM micrographs for composites of PE/PE-g-MAH/4% by weight of SiO₂. The micrographs clearly documented that addition of only 2 wt% of the compatibilizer changed the composite morphology by reducing filler aggregates size as well as their number. Increased adhesion between the PE matrix and SiO₂ particles was interpreted to be a result of interactions taking place between the polar groups of maleic anhydride and silanol groups on the silica surface. These interactions are responsible for reduction of the size of silica aggregates, leading to improved mechanical properties.     

Pithecellobium Clypearia Benth Fiber/Recycled Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) Composites Prepared in a Vane Extruder: Analysis of Mechanical Properties and Morphology

The effect of compatibilizer types and concentrations on the mechanical properties and morphology of Pithecellobium Clypearia Benth Fiber (PCBF)/recycled ABS composites prepared by a vane extruder were characterized. In addition, the percentage of compatibilizer was fixed at 8%, and the effect of lubricant concentrations on the mechanical properties and torque behaviors of the composites was also studied. Maleic anhydride grafted ABS (ABS-g-MAH) and maleic anhydride grafted PS (PS-g-MAH) were used as compatibilizers; the lubricant used was Struktol TPW 604 (blend of aliphatic carboxylic acid salts and mono diamides). The composite with 8% ABS-g-MAH showed superior mechanical properties compared to the composite without compatibilizer and the 8% PS-g-MAH compatibilized composites. Compared with PS-g-MAH, ABS-g-MAH was more effective for the composites to improve the interfacial interaction and mechanical properties. The comprehensive mechanical properties of PCBF/recycled ABS composite filled with 4% lubricant were better than the composites without lubricant and the composites with any other content of TPW 604. Moreover, the torque of the composites in an internal mixer decreased with an increasing lubricant content.     

Effect of High-Density Polyethylene Nanocomposite Compatibilizer Type on the Interfacial Adhesion and Mechanical Properties of Polyethylene Nano-Homocomposites

In this paper, the effect of nanocomposite compatibilizer type on the interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties of new class of polyethylene (PE) homocomposites, comprising PE/clay nanocomposites as matrix and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers as reinforcement, was investigated. These were manufactured by a combination of powder impregnation and film stacking methods, introduced in previous research. Three types of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) Nanocomposites were prepared based on the various compatibilizers used: (i) nanocomposites containing HDPE-grafted maleic anhydride (HDPE-g-MA) as compatibilizer of clay and HDPE matrix, (ii) linear low-density polyethylene-grafted maleic anhydride (LLDPE-g-MA) used as compatibilizer, and (iii) nanocomposites without any compatibilizer. The effects of the presence and compatibilizer type on the quality of clay dispersion, and also the interface features of HDPE-nanocomposite and UHMWPE fibers were investigated and compared with each other. The results demonstrated that the kind of compatibilizer was an important factor determining the dispersion state of clay platelets, and influenced the UHMWPE fiber–PE matrix interface adhesion and the mechanical properties of the PE nano-homocomposites.     

Mechanical Properties and Morphology of Polypropylene/Polypropylene-g-Maleic Anhydride/Long Glass Fiber Composites

Long glass fiber (LGF)-reinforced polypropylene (PP) was prepared using a self-designed impregnation device. The effect of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and maleic anhydride (MA) content on the compatibilizer, PP grafted with maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA), was investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical properties. The experimental results demonstrated that the increase of DCP and MA could effectively improve the interfacial interaction between PP and GF. Good interfacial adhesion between PP and GF in PP/ PP-g-MA /LGF composites was observed from SEM studies for the higher contents of MA. The best mechanical properties of PP/ PP-g-MA /LGF(30%) composites were obtained when the content of DCP and MA were 0.4 and 0.8 wt%, respectively. The storage modulus of the PP/PP-g-MA/LGF composites increased and then decreased with the content of MA. When the content of MA was 0.8 wt%, tan δ had the lowest value, indicating that the corresponding composites had the best compatibility.     

Enhanced mechanical properties of bamboo fiber/HDPE composites by grafting poly(amido amine) onto fiber surface

The mechanical properties of bamboo fiber composites depend on the interfacial strength between fiber and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix. Different poly (amido amine) (PAMAM) dendrimers were grafted onto bamboo fiber to improve the interfacial strength of the resulting composites. The surface morphology of the resulting materials was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscope. Surface characteristic the bamboo fiber surface were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). The characterization results revealed that PAMAM were chemically grafted onto the surface of bamboo fiber.     

Influence of Compatibilizer-Type and Processing Approach on the Dispersion of OMMT in High-Density Polyethylene Matrix

High-density polyethylene/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared via melt intercalation in an internal mixer using both a direct mixing and master batching method. Two types of maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene, high-density polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride, and linear low-density polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride, (HDPE-g-MA, LLDPE-g-MA) were used as compatibilizers to enhance the dispersibility of nanoclay in HDPE. Dispersion of organoclay in the nanocomposites was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and rheological mechanical spectroscopy (RMS). Effects of clay content and degree of clay dispersion on the rheological and tensile properties were also investigated. Furthermore, the effect of order of mixing on the dispersion and distribution of the clay layers was studied. The obtained results showed that organoclay in the nanocomposites were dispersed homogeneously and exfoliated better when HDPE-g-MA and the direct mixing route were used. Although in the master batching method clay intercalated better, clay layers chiefly remain in compatibilizer rich areas. On the other hand, direct mixing was observed to lead to clay particles being dispersed in the HDPE matrix or at the interface of the matrix and compatibilizer and, consequently, better improvement in the tensile modulus was achieved. It was determined that the compatibilizer with the higher miscibility with the matrix was the key factor for achieving better exfoliation of clay sheets.     

Modification of nano-kenaf surface with maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene upon improved mechanical properties of polypropylene composite

The surface of nano-kenaf fiber is modified with maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MA-g-PP) and added into PP and the mechanical properties and the flow property of the composite are investigated. The addition of MA-g-PP in nano-kenaf/PP composite increases the tensile strength, the elongation%, and the impact strength (I.S.), while it decreases the flow property (melt flow index) compared to without MA-g-PP composite (nano-kenaf/PP). The scanning electron microscope photograph shows it also increases interfacial adhesion between nano-kenaf and PP matrix. Regardless of MA-g-PP, nano-kenaf fibers shows better adhesion with PP compared to micron-kenaf fibers. Addition of MA-g-PP further improved interfacial adhesion between nano-kenaf surface and PP matrix compared to without MA-g-PP nano-kenaf compound. The addition of MA-g-PP apparently improves the interfacial adhesion between nano-kenaf surface and PP by formation of 3-dimensional network structure.     

Morphology and mechanical properties of reconstituted wood board waste-polyethylene composites

The morphology and mechanical properties of reconstituted wood board waste-polyethylene composites were studied using virgin polyethylene (PE) and 2 wt% maleic anhydride (MA) modified polyethylene (MAPE) as matrices. Although the wood waste (WW) and PE are not compatible with each other, dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA) show considerable shifting in the α-transition temperature and crystallisation temperature (T _c) of PE in the unmodified composites, indicating physical interaction between PE and WW. The increase in crystallinity with increasing WW content up to 50 wt% indicates that WW is a potential nucleating agent for PE. However, the tensile strength of the unmodified composites gradually decreases with WW content, indicating that the improvement in interface adhesion is essential for WW to be used as reinforcing fillers. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) results indicate that MAPE interacts with WW through esterification and hydrogen bonding to form good adhesion between the two phases. Inward shifting in glass transition temperature (T _g) for the MAPE-based composites containing less than 60 wt% WW indicates that WW and MAPE are partially compatible with each other. SEM micrographs of MAPE-based composites provide further evidence for this mechanism. The tensile strength of the MAPE-based composites is clearly higher than that of the virgin PE-based composites.     

Lignocellulosic composites with grafted polystyrene interfaces

The effects of surface grafting of a polymer onto lignocellulosic fiber surface and processing methods on both the interfacial interactions and the resulting composite properties of the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites were investigated. Chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP) wood fiber was used as a reinforcement, which has been chemically modified by radical polymer grafting of styrene onto the fiber surfaces. The chemically modified CTMP fiber was then compounded with polystyrene (PS). Two different processing methods, both compression and injection moldings, were performed to prepare the wood-fiber-reinforced composites. Experimental results showed that surface modification of wood fiber leads to an obvious increase in mechanical properties of the fiber-reinforced composites as compared to the untreated fiber composites. The enhancement of mechanical properties is much greater through injection molding compared with compression molding owing to occurrence of orientation, and better mixing and interaction between the fiber and the matrix by injection molding. An improvement in fiber wetting properties and adhesion by the matrix was observed through scanning electron microscopy for the surface grafted fiber reinforced composites. Untreated wood fiber exhibited a smooth surface without adhered polymer, indicating poor adhesion, while polymer attached to the surface was seen on treated cellulose fiber due to the higher fiber-matrix interactions.     

Maleated wood-fiber/high-density-polyethylene composites: Coupling mechanisms and interfacial characterization

Chemical coupling of maleated polyethylene (MAPE) copolymers at the interface in wood-fiber/high-density-polyethylene (HDPE) composites was investigated in this study. FTIR and ESCA analyses presented the evidence of a chemical bridge between the wood fiber and polymeric matrix through esterification. The feature peak of esterification occurred in the range between 1800 and 1650 cm^?1 at FTIR spectra. Succinic and half succinic esters were the two primary covalent bonding products to cross-link the wood fiber and thermoplastic matrix. Maleated composites had a remarkable shift on most O1s and C1s spectra in respect to the wood, HDPE, and untreated composites. The binding energy of maleated composites at C1s and O1s spectra was around 282 eV and 530 eV, respectively. The mass concentration of chemical components at the interface was related to the coupling agent type, structure, and concentration. According to the FTIR and ESCA analyses, the coupling mechanisms of MAPEs were proposed. The interfacial morphology in wood-fiber/HDPE composites was illustrated with the pinwheel models based on SEM observations.     

Effect of fiber surface treatments on the fiber–matrix interaction in banana fiber reinforced polyester composites

Cellulosic fibers have been used as cost-cutting fillers in plastic industry. Among the various factors, the final performance of the composite materials depends to a large extent on the adhesion between the polymer matrix and the reinforcement and therefore on the quality of the interface. To achieve optimum performance of the end product, sufficient interaction between the matrix resin and the cellulosic material is desired. This is often achieved by surface modification of the resin or the filler. Banana fiber, the cellulosic fibers obtained from the pseudo-stem of banana plant (Musa sepientum) is a bast fiber with relatively good mechanical properties. The fiber surface was modified chemically to bring about improved interfacial interaction between the fiber and the polyester matrix. Various silanes and alkali were used to modify the fiber surface. Modified surfaces were characterized by SEM and FTIR. The polarity parameters of the chemically modified fibers were investigated using the solvatochromic technique. The results were further confirmed by electrokinetic measurements. Chemical modification was found to have a profound effect on the fiber–matrix interactions. The improved fiber–matrix interaction is evident from the enhanced tensile and flexural properties. The lower impact properties of the treated composites compared to the untreated composites further point to the improved fiber–matrix adhesion. In order to know more about the fiber–matrix adhesion, fractured surfaces of the failed composites where further investigated by SEM. Of the various chemical treatments, simple alkali treatment with NaOH of 1% concentration was found to be the most effective. The fiber–matrix interactions were found to be dependent on the polarity of the modified fiber surface.     

水华蓝藻粉/低密度聚乙烯复合材料光谱特征与性能反馈研究

为了解决周期性爆发的巢湖水华蓝藻难以处置的问题,同时改善低密度聚乙烯材料降解周期长的现状,以低密度聚乙烯(LDPE)为基体,以巢湖新鲜水华蓝藻制得的蓝藻粉为生物材料,以马来酸酐接枝聚乙烯 (PE-g-MAH)为增容剂,以聚乙烯蜡和白油为润滑剂制备复合材料。设置蓝藻粉含量和增容剂含量2个因素作为实验因素,实验材料按一定比例充分混合后,双螺杆挤出制得了复合材料颗粒,再经过注塑方式获得待测样条。通过紫外-可见光谱扫描(UV-VIS)联合傅里叶变换红外光谱扫描(FTIR)的光谱学方法了解水华蓝藻粉、增容剂和复合材料的光谱学特征,分析复合材料制备过程中的结构变化,能够先决性判断该种实验方法对制备新型生物材料的可行性。并以力学性能测试和扫描电镜(SEM)等方法作为辅助手段,与光谱分析的结果相互反馈,充分分析水华蓝藻粉、增容剂含量对复合材料结构与性能的影响。结果显示：通过紫外可见光谱分析,蓝藻初提液在260和620 nm处出现藻蛋白质的特征吸收峰,表明了蓝藻细胞液中藻蛋白的存在,具备作为生物反应材料的基本条件。红外光谱分析可知,蓝藻粉在1 630,1 540和1 440 cm-1附近出现特征吸收峰,符合酰胺键的出峰规律,在3 300 cm-1附近出现O-H的特征吸收峰,进一步验证了蓝藻粉活性位点的存在;马来酸酐的红外光谱图中,酸酐在1 850和1 740 cm-1处出现C═O基的特征峰,环状酸酐中C-O-C的伸缩振动特征峰出现在1 200 cm-1附近;而经过反应所得的复合材料红外光谱中,除聚乙烯的特征吸收峰以外,蓝藻粉中的酰胺键和O-H,以及马来酸酐对应得特征吸收峰都已减弱或消失了,基本可以推测马来酸酐与-OH发生了开环酯化反应,马来酸酐在生物复合材料的制备过程中起到了连接两个不同反应体系的作用。而且,通过扫描电镜可直观的看出,蓝藻粉含量增加将会导致复合体系中成团现象加剧,增容剂的加入增强了复合体系界面的粘结性;力学性能测试的结果为蓝藻粉含量的增加导致复合材料力学性能下降,尤其冲击性能下降显著降幅达54.10%;当蓝藻粉的添加量为15.00%时,随着增容剂用量的增加,材料的拉伸强度、弯曲性能和冲击性能均呈现先增大后减小的趋势。扫描电镜和力学性能的结果也从侧面验证了光谱分析结果的前瞻性和正确性,避免了盲目实验带来的资源浪费等问题。综合考虑,该生物复合材料可选取蓝藻粉含量15.00%,增容剂含量3.00%,聚乙烯蜡和白油用量3.00%和1.00%的配方,此时的力学性能为：拉伸强度为11.70 MPa,冲击强度为20.00 kJ·m-2,弯曲强度为8.80 MPa,弯曲模量为220.00 MPa。     

Effect of Carbon Nanotubes on the Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene/Wood Flour Composites: Reinforcement Mechanism

Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) was employed as the compatibilizer and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or hydroxylated CNTs as reinforcements for polypropylene/wood flour composites. The results showed that when the PP-g-MA loading level was 10 wt%, the bending strength, tensile strength, Izod notched impact strength, and elongation at break of PP-wood composites were enhanced by 85% (66.3 MPa), 93% (33.7 MPa), 5.8% (2.01 kJ/m²), and 64% (23%), respectively, relative to the uncompatibilized composites. The introduction of pristine CNTs only improved slightly the overall mechanical properties of the compatibilized composites due to poor interfacial compatibility. Unlike CNTs, incorporating hydroxylated CNTs (CNT-OH) could significantly improve all of the mechanical properties; for instance, at 0.5 wt% CNT-OH loading, the flexural strength and tensile strength reached 68.5 MPa, and 40.4 MPa about 6.6% higher than that for the composites with the same CNT loading. Furthermore, CNT-OH also remarkably enhanced the storage modulus. Contact angle and morphology observations indicated that the increases in mechanical properties could be attributed to the improvements of interfacial interactions and adhesions of CNTs with the matrix and fillers.     

Adhesion in polyamide/compatibilizer/polypropylene systems

The effect of compatibilization on the adhesion, fracture toughness, morphology, and mechanical properties of isotactic polypropylene (PP)/polyamide 6 (PA) blends was investigated. Maleic anhydride (MAH) functionalized poly-(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA-g-MAH) and nonreactive EVA copolymer were used as compatibilizers in binary blends. An attempt of in situ compatibilization via addition of pure maleic anhydride to PA/EVA/PP melt was also made. The blends containing maleated EVA copolymer showed more regular and finer dispersion of phases, better adhesion at the interface, and improved mechanical properties.     

Interfacial interaction in carbon fiber/thermoplastic composites

This work was undertaken in order to increase the understanding of the mechanism responsible for fiber/matrix interaction in carbon fiber/thermoplastic composite. From results of previous study on carbon fiber/PEEK composite, which suggested that the formation of the fiber/ matrix interaction was primarily related to a chemisorption mechanism, a study was done of the conditions required to obtain efficient fiber/matrix interaction in PA-12 and PP/carbon fiber composites. The interest in studying carbon fiber composite based on PP and PA-12 was that these two matrices are very different in terms of reactivity, polyamide having many more reactive groups than polypropylene. As expected, due to the non-reactive chemical structure of the polypropylene, fiber/matrix interaction in carbon fiber/PP composite occurred only when the matrix was thermally degraded, i.e. when the composite was molded at high temperature or under long residence time at the melt temperature. For the carbon fiber/PA-12 composite, strong fiber/matrix interaction occurred readily at relatively low molding temperature, i.e. well before thermal degradation of the matrix. It was also found that the short beam shear strength in these composites seems to evolve with molding temperature, and a maximum interfacial strength was observed at a molding temperature corresponding to the thermal degradation of the matrix. This indicates that although matrix degradation often results in strong reduction in the composite performance, some matrix degradation can be beneficial in terms of interfacial mechanical properties. Finally, this work demonstrated that while the formation of fiber/matrix interaction seems to be primarily related to a chemisorption mechanism, the contribution of interphase crystallinity to the interfacial strength is not negligible. In fact, interfacial crystallinity was found to be essential to ensure optimum interfacial strength.     

The role of interface modification on the mechanical properties of injection-moulded composites from commingled polypropylene/banana granules

Commingled polypropylene (PP)/banana granules were fabricated from slivers by mixing PP fibers and banana fibers by textile equipment. By twisting the sliver, the reinforcing fibers were compacted and bonded with the molten matrix material. PP/banana composites were prepared from commingled PP/banana granules by injection moulding method with special reference to the effect of maleic anhydride modified polypropylene (MAH-PP) concentration. The mechanical properties of the composites were found to depend on the concentration of MAH-PP. The tensile and flexural properties of the composites increased with the addition of MAH-PP up to 2 wt%. After 2 wt% addition of MAH-PP, these properties tend to be stabilized. On the other hand the unmodified composites showed the maximum impact strength. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FTIR) analysis of the MAH-PP modified composites showed evidence of a chemical bridge between the hydroxyl group of the banana fiber and maleic anhydride of the MAH-PP through an esterification reaction. The feature peak of the esterification occurred in the range ～ 1743 cm^?1. In order to confirm the esterfication reaction further, FTIR spectra of the banana microfibrils and MAH-PP modified PP/banana microfibril composites were taken and compared. The tensile fracture surfaces of the unmodified and MAH-PP modified PP/banana composites were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An improvement in adhesion between the fiber and the matrix was observed in the case of MAH-PP modified composites. Two different processing methods, both injection and compression mouldings were performed to prepare the PP/banana composites. Tensile properties of the composites prepared by these two methods were compared. The enhancement of tensile properties for injection-moulded composites compared to the compression-moulded composites is owing to the occurrence of orientation, better mixing and interaction between the fiber and the matrix during injection moulding. Finally, experimental results of the tensile properties of the injection-moulded composites have been compared with theoretical predictions.     

Interface and its effect on the interlaminate shear strength of novel glass fiber/hyperbranched polysiloxane modified maleimide-triazine resin composites

Interface is the key topic of developing advanced fiber reinforced polymeric composites. Novel advanced glass woven fabric (GF) reinforced composites, coded as GF/mBT, were prepared, of which the matrix resin was hyperbranched polysiloxane (HBPSi) modified maleimide-triazine (mBT) resin. The influence of the composition of the matrix on the interfacial nature of the GF/mBT composites were studied and compared with that of the composite based on GF and BT resin using contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and dielectric properties over wide frequency and temperature ranges. Results show that the interfacial nature of the composites is dependent on the chemistries of the matrices, mBT matrices have better interfacial adhesion with GF than BT resin owing to the formation of chemical and hydrogen bonds between mBT resin and GF; while in the case of mBT resins, the content of HBPSi also plays an important role on the interfacial feature and thus the macro-performance. Specifically, with increasing the content of HBPSi in the matrix, the interlaminate shear strength of corresponding composites significantly improves, demonstrating that better interfacial adhesion guarantees outstanding integrated properties of the resultant composites.     

Assessment of interface deformation and fracture in metal matrix composites under transverse loading conditions

The transverse properties of unidirectional metal matrix composites (MMCs) are dominated by the fiber/matrix interfacial properties, residual stresses and matrix mechanical response. In order to monitor and study, in situ, the failure of interfaces in titanium-based composites subjected to transverse loading conditions, an ultrasonic imaging technique has been developed. The interface was imaged ultrasonically and the change in ultrasonic amplitude with the transverse loading was monitored, indicating the sensitivity of the technique to fracture and deformation of interfaces. This change in amplitude has been explained in terms of the multiple reflection theory of ultrasonic waves. The multiple reflection theory enabled estimation of the interfacial deformation and debonding as a function of loading. The ultrasonic technique was also used in conjunction with finite element modeling in order to quantify the fiber/matrix interfacial transverse strength in situ in MMCs.     

Short sisal fiber reinforced polypropylene composites: the role of interface modification on ultimate properties

Sisal fibers have been used for the reinforcement of polypropylene matrix. The compatibilization between the hydrophilic cellulose fiber and hydrophobic PP has been achieved through treatment of cellulose fibers with sodium hydroxide, isocyanates, maleic anhydride modified polypropylene (MAPP), benzyl chloride and by using permanganate. Various fiber treatments enhanced the tensile properties of the composites considerably, but to varying degrees. The SEM photomicrographs of fracture surfaces of the treated composites clearly indicated the extent of fiber–matrix interface adhesion, fiber pullout and fiber surface topography. Surface fibrillation is found to occur during alkali treatment which improves interfacial adhesion between the fiber and PP matrix. The grafting of the fibers by MAPP enhances the tensile strength of the resulting composite. It has been found that the urethane derivative of polypropylene glycol and cardanol treatments reduced the hydrophilic nature of sisal fiber and thereby enhanced the tensile properties of the sisal–PP composites, as evident from the SEM photomicrographs of the fracture surface. The IR spectrum of the urethane derivative of polypropylene glycol gave evidence for the existence of a urethane linkage. Benzoylation of the fiber improves the adhesion of the fiber to the PP matrix. The benzoylated fiber was analyzed by IR spectroscopy. Experimental results indicated a better compatibility between benzoylated fiber and PP. The observed enhancement in tensile properties of permanganate-treated composites at a low concentration is due to the permanganate-induced grafting of PP on to sisal fibers. Among the various treatments, MAPP treatment gave superior mechanical properties. Finally, experimental results of the mechanical properties of the composite have been compared with theoretical predictions.