Mechanical and Physical Properties of Wood-Plastic Composite Panels

Abstract

In this research wood-plastic composite (WPC) panels were produced from high density polyethylene, MDF, and particle-board waste at 60, 70, and 80 wt% fiber loadings using the dry blend/hot press method. Physical and mechanical properties of the panels were studied and compared with conventional MDF and particle-board panels. The results indicated that the studied properties of the composites were strongly affected by the kind and proportion of the wood fiber and polymer. Maximum values of the flexural modulus of the WPC panels were reached at 70% fiber content. The flexural strength and impact strength of the WPC panels declined when fiber content increased from 60 to 80%. The flexural modulus of the WPC panels was lower than that of the virgin MDF panels but the flexural modulus of the composites with 70% fibers was close to that of particle-board panels. Flexural strength of MDF panels was noticeably higher than those of wood-plastic composites whereas the flexural modulus of particle-board panels was comparable to that of the wood-plastic composites at 80% fiber content. Furthermore, water uptake of wood-plastic samples increased with the increase in fiber content; however, it was relatively low compared with virgin MDF and particle-board panels.

Mechanical properties of reinforced polyvinyl chloride composites: Effect of filler form and content

“…As a consequence, a balance in performance and cost could be achieved through proper material design. However, only a few studies on the mechanical properties of hybrid composites with two natural fibers are available today and in most cases synthetic and natural fiber reinforced hybrid composites are studied 11–18…”

Mechanical Properties of Sago/Urea Formaldehyde Particleboard Affected by the Weight Fraction of Sago

“…This is because the low particles content did not manage to dissipate the energy effectively. Chaharmahali et al mentioned that increasing the fibre content will significantly decrease the impact strength [17].…”

“…0.6mm sieving size has better impact strength compared to 1mm and 2mm sieving size because 0.6mm sieving size is more compactly filled in particleboard that provides a large region for stress concentration. The higher aspect ratios of sago particle had improved the structure of the panels [17].…”

Study on the effects of wood flour geometry on physical and mechanical properties of wood-plastic composites

“…Flat pressed wood plastic composites however have the advantage of the availability of hot presses in conventional wood composite manufacturing facilities and the ability to readily control the density of the panel. A number of studies have been carried out on these types of wood plastic composites (Chaharmahali et al 2005(Chaharmahali et al , 2007(Chaharmahali et al , 2008(Chaharmahali et al , 2010 but little or no study is carried out on a mixture of sawdust and shavings as two important wood flour sources at different proportions in flat pressed WPCs. Effects of particle size and geometry as a function of sawdust-shaving ratio is the main focus of the present study.…”