TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of processing method and fiber size on the structure and properties of wood-plastic composites
AU - Migneault, Sebastien
AU - Koubaa, Ahmed
AU - Erchiqui, Fouad
AU - Chaala, Abdelkader
AU - Englund, Karl
AU - Wolcott, Michael P.
N1 - Funding Information:
The Authors are grateful to the Canada Research Chair Program, the Ministère du développement économique et de l’Innovation du Québec (MDEIE), NSERC, Caisse Populaire DesJardins, Tembec and the UQAT foundation for financial support. Authors are also grateful to Margaret McKyes for the editorial revision of this manuscript.
PY - 2009/1
Y1 - 2009/1
N2 - The aim of this study was to understand the roles of processing method and fiber size on the properties of wood-plastic composites (WPC). Composites were manufactured using extrusion or injection molding (IM) and fibers of different fiber length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio. IM resulted in better mechanical properties and lower water absorption and swelling than extrusion. These differences can be explained by the structure and surface quality of the composites. Fiber L/D ratio had a beneficial effect on mechanical properties but resulted in decreased water absorption characteristics. These results allow identifying a suitable forming process and/or fiber size according to application needs. This study provides a better understanding of the relationships between processing method, fiber characteristics, and composite behavior.
AB - The aim of this study was to understand the roles of processing method and fiber size on the properties of wood-plastic composites (WPC). Composites were manufactured using extrusion or injection molding (IM) and fibers of different fiber length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio. IM resulted in better mechanical properties and lower water absorption and swelling than extrusion. These differences can be explained by the structure and surface quality of the composites. Fiber L/D ratio had a beneficial effect on mechanical properties but resulted in decreased water absorption characteristics. These results allow identifying a suitable forming process and/or fiber size according to application needs. This study provides a better understanding of the relationships between processing method, fiber characteristics, and composite behavior.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.compositesa.2008.10.004
DO - 10.1016/j.compositesa.2008.10.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:57749195093
SN - 1359-835X
VL - 40
SP - 80
EP - 85
JO - Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
JF - Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
IS - 1
ER -