Densification of fast-growing paulownia wood for tough composites with stab resistance property

Abstract

Paulownia wood, a fast-growing wood native to China, has limited application due to its loose texture. However, the mechanical properties of materials can be improved by densification after delignification. In this study, paulownia wood was treated with sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide to remove most of the lignin, then densified by hot pressing. The influence of the densification process of paulownia wood/epoxy composite on the mechanical properties, especially stab resistance, was discussed. The results show that densification after delignification significantly improves the mechanical properties of the materials. The densification improves the fracture strength and modulus of the materials, reching 171.98 MPa and 14.55 GPa. Hybrid composites made of densified wood/carbon fiber/epoxy resin have good stab resistance. The punch strength per unit area density and puncture worker unit area density of these hybrid composites are superior to carbon fiber reinforced composites.