0000000000668358

AUTHOR

Bo Madsen

Apparent interfacial shear strength of short-flax-fiber/starch acetate composites

Abstract The paper deals with an indirect industry-friendly method for identification of the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) in a fully bio-based composite. The IFSS of flax fiber/starch acetate is evaluated by a modified Bowyer and Bader method based on an analysis of the stress–strain curve of a short-fiber-reinforced composite in tension. A shear lag model is developed for the tensile stress–strain response of short-fiber-reinforced composites allowing for an elastic-perfectly plastic stress transfer. Composites with different fiber volume fractions and a variable content of plasticizer have been analyzed. The apparent IFSS of flax/starch acetate is within the range of 5.5–20.5 MPa, de…

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Use of micro-tomography for validation of method to identify interfacial shear strength from tensile tests of short regenerated cellulose fibre composites

The interfacial shear strength of short regenerated cellulose fibre/polylactide composites was characterized by means of an industry-friendly adhesion test method. The interfacial shear strength was back-calculated from the experimental tensile stress-strain curves of composites by using a micro-mechanical model. The parameters characterizing the microstructure of the composites, e.g. fibre length and orientation distributions, used as input in the model were obtained by micro-tomography. The investigation was carried out on composites with untreated and surface treated fibres with various fibre weight contents (5wt%, 10wt%, and 15wt% for untreated fibres, and 15wt% for treated fibres). The…

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Strength of cellulosic fiber/starch acetate composites with variable fiber and plasticizer content

In this experimental study, the performance of injection-molded short flax and hemp fibers in plasticized starch acetate were analyzed in terms of strength. Parameters involved in the analysis are a variable fiber and plasticizer content. The measured strength of the composites varies in the range of 12–51 MPa for flax fibers and 11–42 MPa for hemp fibers, which is significantly higher than the properties of the unreinforced starch acetate matrix. The micro-structural parameters used in modeling of composite strength were obtained from optical observations and indirect measurements. Some of these parameters were qualitatively verified by X-ray microtomography.

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Non-destructive automatic determination of aspect ratio and cross-sectional properties of fibres

A novel method for computerised estimation of the aspect ratio distribution and various cross-sectional geometrical properties of fibres in short-fibre reinforced composites is proposed. The method, based on X-ray micro-computed tomography, is non-destructive and does not require user intervention. Based on results on specially fabricated model material, the accuracy and precision of the method seems adequate. The method is applied in analysing a manufacturing process of wood fibre reinforced thermoplastic composite. The results indicate a significant decrease of the aspect ratio of fibres during the processing steps. Finally, the feasibility of the method is assessed by estimating paramete…

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