Journal of Composite Materials

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Register here to gain access to SAGE's 500+ Journals Online

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Najafi, S. K.
Right arrow Articles by Tajvidi, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
First published on March 4, 2008
Journal of Composite Materials 2008, doi:10.1177/0021998308088608

Article

Effects of Water Absorption on Creep Behavior of Wood–Plastic Composites

Saeed Kazemi Najafi1*, Houri Sharifnia1, and Mehdi Tajvidi2

1 Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, College of Natural Resources and Marine Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Noor, Iran
2 Department of Wood and Paper Science and Technology, College of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.


  Abstract

The effects of filler loading and immersion in water on the creep/recovery behavior of composites made from MDF (medium density fiberboard) flour (as natural fiber) and recycled HDPE (high density polyethylene) (as resin) were studied (at 60, 70, and 80% by weight fiber loadings). Nominal density and dimensions of the manufactured panels were 1 g/cm3 and 35 x 35 x 1 cm3, respectively. Maximum values of flexural modulus and strength of panels were obtained at 70 and 60% fiber content, respectively. The creep strain decreased as the lignocellulosic flour level increased. Water absorption has negative effect on creep behavior of MDF flour/HDPE composites. For all filler contents, it can be seen that the creep strain increases when the immersion time increases. This is believed to occur as a result of the cumulative effect of absorbed water on fiber matrix debonding and easier relaxation of the molecules at higher moisture contents leading to larger deformations at longer times.

Key Words: wood–plastic composites, MDF flour, waste HDPE, water absorption, creep.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?