BIOBASED RESIN AS A MEANS TOTOUGHEN BIOCOMPOSITES

摘要

Biocomposites can be designed and engineered from natural/bio-fibers and unsaturated polyesterresin/blend of polyester resin and derivitized vegetable oil to replace existing glass fiber-polyestercomposites for use in housing structures. Natural fiber composites (Biocomposites) would provideenvironmental gains, reduced energy consumption, lighter weight, insulation and sound absorptionproperties and would also eliminate health hazards unlike glass fiber composites thus providing manybeneficial additions to the American Advanced Housing program. Biocomposites were made using a nonwovenfiber mat (90% Hemp fiber with 10% thermoplastic polyester binder) as reinforcement, andunsaturated polyester (UPE) resin as well as blends of UPE and functionalized vegetable oils as thepolymer matrix. All composites were made with 30 % volume fraction of fiber, which was optimizedearlier . The structure-property relationships of this system as well as the thermo-mechanical properties ofthese composites were also measured using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Differential ScanningCalorimetry (DSC), and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The notched izod impact strength of biocompositesfrom biobased resin (blends of UPE and functionalized vegetable oil) and hemp fiber areenhanced by 90% as compared to that of the pure UPE- hemp fiber composites. The initial tests also showan improvement in the tensile properties of the composite as a result of the incorporation of thederivitized vegetable oil. Further experiments are aimed to study in detail the morphology of thecomposite using electron microscopy.