Mechanical Properties of Polyethylene Composites Filled with Willow (Salix babylonica L. ) Bark-Boring Insect Dust

摘要

The biomass of willow bark-boring insect dust and the mechanical properties of corresponding thermoplastic composites were analyzed. Results indicated that the average diameter and length of willow fibers were 0.25–0.5 mm and 5.08 mm, respectively. The chemical composition ofwillow fibers contained 35.62% cellulose, 13.18% hemicellulose, 28.02% lignin and 3.52% ash. The maximum flexural strength was 32.77 MPa when the amount of willow fibers was 40%. The tensile strength and notched impact strength were linearly decreased with the increase of biomass content,and the maximum values were 16.19 Mpa and 4.78 KJ/m~(2), respectively. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the mechanical properties were investigated. Based on the results, the willow bark-boring insect dust fiber is a highly potential materialthat can be used as natural fiber composite.