Low-temperature fibre direct compounding of cellulose fibres into PA6

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

This study reports on the development of a novel polymer processing approach that combines low-temperature (LT) processing and fibre direct compounding (FDC) to reduce the thermal stress on thermosensitive components that occurs during compounding and subsequent injection moulding (IM). Composites based on polyamide 6 (PA6) and cellulose fibres (CeF) were prepared using an LT-FDC process and in parallel with a conventional approach using a twin-screw extruder and IM. The morphological, optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the prepared samples were investigated using optical microscopy (OM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), colorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tensile tests. Composites prepared using LT-FDC exhibited worse fibre dispersion but lower fibre degradation. In comparison to neat PA6, the LT-FDC composites had increased tensile modulus (Et) and storage modulus (E′) at 120 °C by up to 32% and 50%, respectively, while the tensile strength (σm) decreased by 20%.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number6600
Number of pages14
JournalMaterials
Volume15
Issue number19
Early online date23 Sept 2022
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Mendeley d7148bba-ba78-3198-98b5-fc9975680504
Scopus 85139971937

Keywords

Keywords

  • injection moulding, low-temperature processing, fibre direct compounding, thermoplastic matrix composites, engineering polymers, renewable fibres, polyamide, cellulose fibres