Kenaf/polypropylene nonwoven composites: The influence of manufacturing conditions on mechanical, thermal, and acoustical performance

摘要

The kenaf/polypropylene nonwoven composites (KPNCs), with 50/50 blend ratio by weight, were produced by carding and needle-punching techniques, followed by a compression molding with 6-mm thick gauge. The uniaxial tensile, three-point bending, in-plane shearing, and Izod impact tests were performed to evaluate the composite mechanical properties. The thermal properties were evaluated using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The performance of sound absorption and sound insulation was also investigated. An adhesive-free sandwich structure was found to have excellent sound absorption and insulation performance. Based on the evaluation of end-use performance, the best processing condition combination of 230 ? and 120 s was determined, and the correlation between mechanical properties and acoustical behavior was also verified by the panel resonance theory.