EFFECT OF WATER ON THE PHYSICOMECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF COMPOSITES CONTAINING LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE AND LINEN YARN PRODUCTION WASTE

摘要

The effect of the amount of absorbed water on the physicomechanical indices (tensile modulus and rupture strength) of composites based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linen yarn production waste (LW), both without and with coupling agents (stearic acid -SA and diphenylmetane diisocyanate - DIC) is studied. It is shown that the strength properties depend considerably on the time of water sorption and the blend composition. The tensile strength decreases with increased amount of absorbed water (with increased time of exposure to distilled water) and with increased content of LW in the composite. Somewhat different results are obtained for systems containing SA and DIC modifiers. The modifiers, intensifying the interfacial interaction, retard the process of water sorption, therefore the drop in the strength indices is not so significant. Of special interest is the behavior of systems with DIC. In some cases, a slight increase in strength (after a 2 to 5 day exposure to water) is observed, which is probably caused by cross-linking of a free diisocyanate in the system under the action of moisture.