Mechanical and surface properties of lignocellulosic fibres reinforced composites

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the mechanical and surface properties of lignosellulosic fibres reinforced composite before and after photo-degradation exposure. This leads to decrease the mechanical properties of composite as modification of hydrophobic behavior of matrix. In the study, the lignocelluloses specimens were obtained by mix polyester resin type 440- M888 POLYLITE, in a volume percentage of 25 %, with different wood particles classified by size classes. The samples were exposed to UV-A radiations with a wavelength λ of 365 nm for 168 hours (7 days). The evaluation of the surface energy was carried out by the θ contact angle method. For mechanical properties, the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was used to determine the variation of storage and loss modulus. The results showed that UV radiation induced structural morphological instability, which leads to hydrophilic effect. The loss modulus recorded an increasing with increases of wood particles sizes.