Evaluation of injection molded natural fiber-polypropylenes for potential in automotive applications

J Thomason, J Rudeiros-Fernández

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

45 Citations (Scopus)
18 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper presents results from measurements of the interfacial adhesion of coir fiber with various polypropylene matrices along with the mechanical properties of their related injection molded composites. Fiber-matrix adhesion, including the effect of polymeric coupling agent, was characterized using the fiber pull-out method. The addition of coupling agent significantly increased the interfacial shear strength of coir fiber-polypropylene. Results from tensile and impact testing of coir reinforced polypropylene composites showed that the coupling agent increased composite tensile strength and unnotched impact strength but reduced notched impact performance. The potential of these materials to replace existing automotive materials is discussed. It is concluded that coir reinforced-polypropylene is not a suitable candidate to replace glass fiber - polypropylene but that it may have some potential as a replacement in lower performance talc reinforced polypropylene applications.
Original languageEnglish
Pages1-8
Number of pages8
Publication statusPublished - 22 Jul 2019
Event11th Canadian – International Conference on Composites 2019 - Kelowna, Canada
Duration: 22 Jul 201925 Jul 2019
http://cancom2019.ca/

Conference

Conference11th Canadian – International Conference on Composites 2019
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityKelowna
Period22/07/1925/07/19
Internet address

Keywords

  • composites
  • automotive
  • natural fibres
  • polypropylene

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