D. J. Gardner Department of Forest Management and Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA Abstract The combination of synthetic thermoplastic polymers and wood is normally problematic because wood surfaces are hydrophilic while typical thermoplastic polymers are hydrophobic. A possible solution is to use block copolymer coupling agents. In this work...

The effect of fibre bundling on the effective transverse properties of unidirectional fibre composites has been investigated by way of finite element method and micromechanics models of fibre bundles. Based on the micromechanical model of single-fibre composites, plane strain models for composites reinforced by fibre bundles are presented. The effective elasto-plastic stress /strain behaviour w...

Biocomposites with unique functionalities for tailored applications are promising products for a sustainable future. In this work, a process concept of forming functional composites by combining of high-density polyethylene, carbon black, and magnetic lignocellulosic particles (wood flour) was demonstrated. The impacts of process parameters on morphologies, crystalline phase, and magnetic inten...

Nanocomposites of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and date wood fiber were prepared after modification of the host matrix by reactive extrusion grafting of maleic anhydride. Chemical and mechanical treatment of date wood flour (WF) was conducted to obtain nanocrystalline cellulose. Layered silicates (clay) were partially intercalated with date wood fiber, and the modified layered silicate was use...

Rheological behavior of high-density polyethylene (HDPE)-wood flour composites with different wood contents was examined using steady shear sweep, oscillatory frequency sweep, creep test, and stress relaxation test. The samples were prepared using a melt compounding method in a twin-screw extruder. The results showed that the yield stress did not appear for the composites prepared under the pro...

The aim of this work is to study the applications of soft computing technique on the machinability of bagasse fiber-reinforced vinyl ester composites. The prediction accuracy of regression, artificial neural networks, and neuro-fuzzy methods on the response variables during machining of bagasse fiber-reinforced vinyl ester composite sheets.. In experimental part, a total of 27 experiments was c...

The rising concerns in terms of environmental protection and the search for more versatile polymer-based materials have led to an increasing interest in the use of polymer composites filled with natural organic fillers (biodegradable and/or coming from renewable resources) as a replacement for traditional mineral inorganic fillers. At the same time, the recycling of polymers is still of fundame...