Effects of the Size of Wood Flour on Mechanical Properties of Wood-Plastic Composites

Abstract:

In this article, wood-plastic composites(WPCs) were manufactured with wood flour(80～120mesh、40～80mesh、20～40mesh、10～20mesh) combing with high density polyethylene(HDPE). Effects of the size of wood flour on mechanical properies and density of composites were investigated. Results showed that particle size of wood flour had an important effect on properitiesof WPCs. Change of mesh number had a outstanding effect on flexural modulus, tensile modulus and impact strength, howere, little effect on flexural strength and tensile strength. When mesh number of wood flour changed from 80～120mesh to 10～20mesh,flexural modulus and tensile modulus were respectively enhanced by 42.4% and 28.4%, respectively, and impact strength was decreased by 35.5%.Size of wood flour basically had no effect on density of composite within 10～120mesh. The use of wood flour or fiber as fillers and reinforcements in thermoplastics has been gaining acceptance in commodity plastics applications in the past few years. WPCs are currently experiencing a dramatic increase in use. Most of them are used to produce window/door profiles,decking,railing,ang siding. Wood thermoplastic composites are manufactured by dispering wood fiber or wood flour(WF) into molten plastics to form composite materials by processing techniques such as extrusion,themoforming, and compression or injection molding[1]. WPCs have such advantages[2]：(1)With wood as filler can improve heat resistance and strength of plastic, and wood has a low cost, comparing with inorganic filler, wood has a low density. Wood as strengthen material has a great potential in improving tensile strength and flexural modulus[3]；(2) For composite of same volume, composites with wood as filler have a little abrasion for equipment and can be regenerated；(3)They have a low water absorption and low hygroscopic property, They are not in need of protective waterproof paint, at the same time, composite can be dyed and painted for them own needs；(4)They are superior to wood in resistantnce to crack、leaf mold and termite aspects, composites are the same biodegradation as wood；(5)They can be processed or connected like wood；（6）They can be processed into a lots of complicated shape product by means of extrusion or molding and so on, meanwhile, they have high-efficiency raw material conversion and itself recycle utilization[4]. While there are many sucesses to report in WPCs, there are still some issues that need to be addressed before this technology will reach its full potential. This technology involves two different types of materials: one hygroscopic(biomass) and one hydrophobic(plastic), so there are issues of phase separation and compatibilization[5]. In this paper, Effects of the size of wood powder on mechanical properties of WPCs were studied.