Seculi Faust, Julián Fernando, Llorens Joan, Espinach Francisco X, Mutjé Pere, Tarrés Quim
LEPAMAP-PRODIS Research Group, University of Girona, 17003 Girona, Spain.
CATS Research Group, Department of Architecture and Construction Engineering, University of Girona, Avda Mª Aurelia Capmany 61, 17071 Girona, Spain.
Polymers (Basel). 2023 Jul 24;15(14):3137. doi: 10.3390/polym15143137.
There is growing emphasis on developing green composites as a substitute for oil-based materials. In the pursuit of studying and enhancing the mechanical properties of these composites, tensile tests are predominantly employed, often overlooking the flexural properties. This study focuses on researching the flexural properties of abaca-fiber-reinforced bio-based high-density polyethylene (BioPE) composites. Specifically, composites containing 30 wt% of abaca fiber (AF) were treated with a coupling agent based on polyethylene functionalized with maleic acid (MAPE). The test results indicate that incorporating 8 wt% of the coupling agent significantly improved the flexural strength of the composites. Thereafter, composites with AF content ranging from 20 to 50 wt% were produced and subjected to flexural testing. It was observed that flexural strength was positively correlated with AF content. A micromechanics analysis was conducted to evaluate the contributions of the phases. This analysis involved assessing the mechanical properties of both the reinforcement and matrix to facilitate the modeling of flexural strength. The findings of this study demonstrate the feasibility of replacing oil-based matrices, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), with fully bio-based composites that exhibit comparable flexural properties to their oil-based counterparts.
人们越来越重视开发绿色复合材料以替代石油基材料。在研究和提高这些复合材料机械性能的过程中，主要采用拉伸试验，而常常忽视弯曲性能。本研究聚焦于研究蕉麻纤维增强生物基高密度聚乙烯（BioPE）复合材料的弯曲性能。具体而言，含有30 wt%蕉麻纤维（AF）的复合材料用基于马来酸官能化聚乙烯（MAPE）的偶联剂进行处理。试验结果表明，加入8 wt%的偶联剂显著提高了复合材料的弯曲强度。此后，制备了AF含量在20至50 wt%之间的复合材料并进行弯曲测试。观察到弯曲强度与AF含量呈正相关。进行了微观力学分析以评估各相的贡献。该分析涉及评估增强体和基体的机械性能，以促进弯曲强度的建模。本研究结果表明，用具有与其石油基对应物相当弯曲性能的全生物基复合材料替代石油基基体（如高密度聚乙烯（HDPE））是可行的。
