Effect of Pre-Molding Process and Additive of Injection Molded Wood/PP Composites

Abstract

Abstract Injection molded composites are becoming more widespread in recent years because of their high quality and low cost. However, compared to synthetic fiber composites, it is difficult to maintain a constant fiber volume fraction and uniform distribution for natural fiber composites during the direct injection process. This is mainly because natural fibers are more easily twisted during feeding into the injection machine, owing to their rough surfaces. These feeding difficulties are particularly due to the low bulk densities of natural fibers, especially natural fillers. Additional challenges to the injection process include the concentration and, especially for natural filler reinforced composite. To address these problems, the current study investigates the mechanical properties and morphologies of polypropylene (PP) reinforced by wood powder. Two pre-molding processes, dry-blending and compounding, were compared, and the effects of an additive (crystalline polyalpha olefin (CPAO)) on the mechanical properties of the wood/PP composites were investigated. This investigation is based on tensile, three point bending, and Izod impact tests, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation of the fracture surfaces. Results indicated that the composites molded through compounding exhibited better mechanical properties than the samples molded through the direct dry-blending process. In addition, the tensile and bending properties of the composites produced through compounding were found to increase with the addition of CPAO content, because of improved wood powder distribution in the PP matrix.