Paper number 770
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CHARACTERIZATION OF WOOD-POLYPROPYLENE COMPOSITE SANDWICH SYSTEM |
Ganesan Kumar1, Karthik Ramani1
1Composites and Polymer Processing Laboratory
School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1288, USA
| Summary | Dynamic mechanical properties of a new wood-thermoplastic composite sandwich system are investigated. The wood-thermoplastic composite sandwich system was made by bonding unidirectional continuous glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (UCGPP) composite to wood using a thermoplastic tie layer. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of neat wood and wood-UCGPP sandwich was carried out under controlled relative humidity (RH) and isothermal conditions to simulate moisture sorption/desorption processes. It is observed that under continuous desorption condition the modulus decrease is less in the case of wood-sandwich (20 %) when compared with neat wood (35 %). However, under desorption/sorption cycle (drying/wetting cycle) conditions the wood-sandwich seems to undergo significant modulus change when compared with neat wood. The modulus behavior of both wood and wood-sandwich with different end-use temperatures levels is studied. Optical and environmental scanning electron micrographs show the distribution and penetration pattern of tie layer into wood as well as UCGPP composite. |
Keywords | wood-sandwich, glass transition temperature, tie layer, plasticization, penetration, moisture content, hardwood, mechanical interlocking. |