Creep Behavior of Lignocellulosic-Fiber/Polypropylene Matrix Composites

Abstract

Lignocellulosic residues obtained after the sustainable harvesting of heart of palm from pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes) palms were managed to produce chopped fibers. These fibers can be used to manufacture agglomerated panels and also as reinforcement in polymer-matrix composites. Polypropylene (PP) is a convenient polymer to be loaded with these residues due to its large applications, including under-the-bonnet applications by the automotive industry. PP-pejibaye composites with 10wt% of fiber mass fraction were manufactured and their creep behavior was studied. The experimental results were suitably described analyzing the variation of the creep modulus fitting the experimental data points to the three-element model where the Kelvin-Voigt element is attached to an independent spring. The results obtained show that the incorporation of the chopped pejibaye fibers to not affect the creep performance of the composite. This behavior is very promising, since untreated fibers were used, meaning that the use of expensive and many times environmentally detrimental fiber surface chemical treatments can be avoided.