ABSTRACT:The improvement of Brinell hardness of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) samples through impregnation and in-situ polymerization of methyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate monomers was investigated. The formulation combinations were determined by a mixture design. Sugar maple samples were impregnated with these mixtures by a vacuum and pressure process and polymerized in situ by a catalyst-thermal procedure. The effects of the monomers and their combinations on Brinell hardness and hardness modulus were analyzed. Chemical impregnation enhanced both Brinell hardness and hardness modulus. A significant relationship between hardness modulus and Brinell hardness was found. Modulus of elasticity of sugar maple was also improved through impregnation with methacrylates.
Wood plastic composites were prepared through impregnation of solid wood with polyethylene. The effects of impregnation parameters on polymer retention and hardness were investigated. A screening strategy of 16-run resolution IV design for seven factors at two levels was adopted. The seven factors were: ratio of maleated polyethylene in formulations, ratio of polyethylenes with different molecular weights, four process factors (vacuum, pressure, time, and temperature), and wood species (red maple and aspen). Polymer retention (PR) and Brinell hardness (H B ) were investigated and discussed on the basis of the impregnation parameters. The present work showed that process parameters (pressure and temperature), polymer impregnants (different molecular weight polyethylenes), and wood species contributed significantly to PR and H B . Increasing pressure and temperature resulted in a higher PR and H B , whereas increasing the molecular weight of polyethylene and switching wood species from aspen to red maple gave a lower PR and H B . This study was aimed at understanding how impregnation parameters affect the final properties of wood plastic composites and developing an optimal fabrication process for wood plastic composites.
The aesthetics of wood-plastic composites (WPCs) can affect the acceptance of the products by consumers. This study was aimed at providing a better understanding of how impregnation variables affect color changes, thereby allowing for the development of an optimal process for WPCs. The effects of impregnation parameters and impregnants on the WPC color were investigated in this study via a screening design. Sixteen runs of resolution IV design for seven factors at two levels were conducted. The seven factors were the ratio of maleated polyethylene in the formulations, the ratio of polyethylenes with different molecular weights, four process factors (vacuum, pressure, time, and temperature), and wood species (red maple and aspen).The studied color parameters included the lightness change, chroma change, hue angle change, saturation change, and total color change. All treatments darkened the wood and increased the chroma values and the saturation. Even though all treatments had an impact on the hue angle, the changes were very small. The wood species, impregnants, impregnation time, and temperature played significant roles in the color change and chroma coordinates. However, no parameter dominated the hue angle change and saturation.
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