Efficient Utilization of Plastic Waste through Product Design and Process Adaptation: A Case Study on Stiffness Enhancement of Beams Produced from Plastic Lumber

摘要

The aim of the present work is the development of a method for structural reinforcement of beams obtained by in-mold extrusion of plastics from solid urban waste. The beams obtained by in-mold extrusion are commonly used for outdoor furniture and structures. The material used for such applications is mainly composed of low-density polyethylene derived from bags and films, with small amounts of high density polyethylene and polypropylene, as well as traces of polyethylene terephthalate. This material is usually referred to as "plastic lumber." Plastic lumber products have a low stiffness, which results in high deflections under flexural loads, particularly under creep loading. In this study reinforcing rods of high aspect ratio were incorporated into plastic lumber beams in specific positions with respect to the cross section of the beam. The reinforcement of the plastic lumber beams with fine rods is introduced in the typical intrusion process used for the production of unreinforced beams. Glass fiber reinforced pultruded rods were chosen for this purpose from a preliminary evaluation of different materials. Different diameter glass fiber reinforced pultruded rods, including surface-abraded systems to increase the roughness, were used for the reinforcement of plastic lumber beams. The reinforced beams were tested in terms of flexural stiffness, creep resistance, and pullout resistance of the embedded rods. The results obtained from the mechanical tests showed a significant enhancement of flexural stiffness and creep resistance behavior. The performance at higher stress levels was shown to be significantly dependent on the interfacial adhesion between rods and polymer matrix.