Mechanical Behaviour of Sorghum Stalk Rind Reinforced Maleic Anhydride Grafted Polyethylene under Different Environmental Conditions

Abstract

This work investigates the mechanical and service behaviour of high-density polyethylene composites reinforced by sorghum stalk rind (SSR) at various concentrations of fibres and maleic anhydride treated polyethylene (MAPE). Fibre length l and aspect ratio l/w distributions of compounded fibre composites show large numbers of smaller particles. Tensile and bending properties were investigated, taking the effects of some service conditions into consideration, such as water absorption and UV exposure. Untreated polyethylene reinforced with 40 wt.% SSR showed a maximum water uptake of 6.9 wt.%. Generally, reductions in strength and modulus were observed upon immersion in water. In contrast, UV radiation did not show any significant effect on mechanical properties at exposure times of up to 300 h.

Modification of Fibers and Matrices in Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites: A Comprehensive Review

“…Research findings on maleic anhydride polypropylene treated natural fibers and its influence toward the performance on NFPCs is discussed in the upcoming section. [ 224–252 ]…”

“…Additionally at 40 wt% content of fibers, 3% MAPE addition does not bond well with the HDPE matrix resulting in limited strength and stiffness values. [ 235 ] Cotton fiber composites treated with MA alone offer desired properties with higher tensile and flexural properties with a rise of 70% and 45% and are considered as an ideal alternative among other treatments, whereas composites treated with NaOH + MA offer a decrease in tensile and flexural properties by about 40%. MA treated composites are thermally stable with minimum differences relative to other treatments.…”