• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.107-113
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• 2018

In this study, the 3D printer filaments were manufactured by using the representative eco-friendly material, bio-composite. Bio-composites were made by incorporating biodegradable polymer of poly lactic acid (PLA) as the matrix and bamboo flour as the filler. The bamboos which were used in this experiment are Phyllostachys bambusoides, Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis, and Phyllostachys pubescen grown in Damyang district in Korea, and the mixture ratio between bamboo flour and PLA were set 10/90, 20/80, 30/70 by weight standard. Also, tensile strength of bamboo/PLA bio-composites manufactured with three kinds of bamboo were estimated and compared. In this result, the highest estimated bio-composites was Phyllostachys bambusoides flour/PLA which mixture ratio was 10/90, that is, it was the most suitable bamboo/PLA bio-composites for manufacturing 3D printer filament.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.124-129
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• 2011

Wood plastic composites (WPCs) are attracting a lot of interest recently. In this study, wood flour/polyethylene (PE) composites panels comprised of a coupling agent and nanoclay were prepared by melt-blending followed by compression molding. Five maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MAPE) coupling agents were tested, and the best choice and its optimum content were determined. The mechanical properties of the WPCs were measured by UTM, and the thermal properties were measured by TGA, DMA, DSC, and TMA. Adding just a small amount (1 phr) of organoclay made the tensile and flexural strength and the crystallinity of the WPC somewhat increase and the storage modulus and dimensional stability of the WPC largely increase. SEM images showed that the coupling agent drastically improved wood flour/PE interfacial bonding. Selecting the best coupling agent optimized content and adding a small amount of organoclay resulted in a high performance wood flour/PE composite.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.14-34
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• 1985

One of the techniques for altering the properties of wood that has received considerable attention in the last twenty years is the formation of a wood-polymer composite (WPC) by irradiation and heat-catalyst polymerization of a monomer incorporated into the wood matrix. Wood-polymer composites are the new products having the superior mechanical and physical properties and the combinated characteristics of wood and plastic. The purpose of this experiment was to obtain the basic data for the improvement of wooden materials by manufacturing WPC and Staypak. The species examined was Hyunsasi-Namoo (Populus alba ${\times}$ P. glandulosa) which had not been utilized yet. Methylmethacrylate (MMA) as monomer, benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator and methyl alcohol as bulking agent were used. The monomer containing BPO was impregnated into wood pieces by the dipping and the vacuum process for 2 hours. After impregnation, the treated samples were polymerized on the hot press with pressure and heat-catalyst methods. The results obtained were summarized as follows 1. The monomer loading into wood by the dipping process was 12.13 percent and 29.99 percent by the vacuum. The polymer loading into wood by the dipping process was 6.79 percent and 15.44 percent by the vacuum. 2. Comparing with Staypak, antishrink efficiency (ASE) of WPC was 12.5 to 13.6 percent on the radial direction and 14.70 to 18.63 percent on the tangential. Antiswelling efficiency (AE) was 14.40 to 17.22 percent on the radial direction and 17.18 to 42.1 8 to 42.14 percent on the tangential. Reduction in water absorptivity (RWA) was 8.19 to 15.5 percent. As a whole, the vacuum process was better than the dipping. 3. The specific gravity of control, Staypak and WPC were 0.44, 0.66 and 0.61 to 0.62, respectively. 4. In the bending strength test, the strength in case that the load direction is on the radial surface was greater than that which the load direction is on the tangential. 5. Increasing rate of stress at proportional limit in compression perpendicular to grain was 72.26 percent in case of WPC by the dipping process, 78.93 percent by the vacuum and 99.09 percent in case of Staypak.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.44-52
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• 2002

Composite materials are created by combining two or more component to achieve desired properties which could not be obtained with the separate components. The use of reinforcing fillers, which can reduce material costs and improve certain properties, is increasing in thermoplastic polymer composites. Currently, various inorganic fillers such as talc, mica, clay, glass fiber and calcium carbonate are being incorporated into thermoplastic composites. Nevertheless, lignocellulose fibers have drawn attention due to their abundant availability, low cost and renewable nature. In recent, interest has grown in composites made from lignocellulose fiber in thermoplastic polymer matrices, particularly for low cost/high volume applications. In addition to high specific properties, lignocellulose fibers offer a number of benefits for lignocellulose fiber/thermoplastic polymer composites. These include low hardness, which minimize abrasion of the equipment during processing, relatively low density, biodegradability, and low cost on a unit-volume basis. In spite of the advantage mentioned above, the use of lignocellulose fibers in thermoplastic polymer composites has been plagued by difficulties in obtaining good dispersion and strong interfacial adhesion because lignocellulose fiber is hydrophilic and thermoplastic polymer is hydrophobic. The application of lignocellulose fibers as reinforcements in composite materials requires, just as for glass-fiber reinforced composites, a strong adhesion between the fiber and the matrix regardless of whether a traditional polymer matrix, a biodegradable polymer matrix or cement is used. Further this article gives a survey about physical and chemical treatment methods which improve the fiber matrix adhesion, their results and effects on the physical properties of composites. Coupling agents in lignocellulose fiber and polymer composites play a very important role in improving the compatibility and adhesion between polar lignocellulose fiber and non-polar polymeric matrices. In this article, we also review various kinds of coupling agent and interfacial mechanism or phenomena between lignocellulose fiber and thermoplastic polymer.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.93-103
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• 2022

Currently, biofibers are used as a reinforcement in polymer composites for structural elements and construction materials instead of the synthetic fibers which cause environmental problems and are expensive. One of the chemicals with a pH close to neutral that can be potentially used as a modified fiber material is sodium chloride (NaCl). Therefore, this study aims to investigate the characteristics of a composite board made from NaCl-treated kenaf fiber. A completely randomized design method was used with consideration of two factors: the content of NaCl in the treatment solution (1 wt%, 3 wt%, and 5 wt%) and the duration of immersion of fibers in the solution (1 h, 2 h, and 3 h). The NaCl treatment was conducted by soaking the fibers in the solution for different durations. The fibers were then rinsed with water until the pH of the water reached 7 and subsequently dried inside an oven at 80℃ for 6 h. Kenaf fiber and epoxy were mixed manually with the total loading of 20 wt% based on the dry weight of the fiber. Physical and mechanical properties of the fibers were then evaluated based on JIS A 5908 particleboard standards. The results showed that increasing NaCl content in the fiber treatment solution can increase the physical and mechanical properties of the composite board. The properties of fibers treated with 5 wt% NaCl for 3 h were superior with a modulus of elasticity of 2.085 GPa, modulus of rupture of 19.77 MPa, internal bonding of 1.8 MPa, thickness swelling of 3%, and water absorption of 10.9%. The contact angle of untreated kenaf fibers was 104°, which increased to 80° and 73° on treatment with 1 wt% and 5 wt% NaCl for 3 h, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.310-319
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• 2009

The representative eco-friendly materials, or bio-composites, were made by incorporating biodegradable polymer of polybutylene succinate (PBS) as the matrix and bamboo flour (BF) as the natural filler. In present study, the effects of content and particle size of natural filler on the bio-composites were carried out around their mechanical, visco-elastic, and thermal properties. By the incorporation of BF, the tensile properties decreased but the viscoelastic and thermal properties revealed positive effect through interaction between the polymer and natural filler. Also, the vulnerability of interfacial adhesion between hydrophobic PBS and hydrophilic BF appeared to adversely affect the properties of bio-composites.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.62-67
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• 2008

Biocomposite was fabricated with biodegradable polymer and natural fiber that has potential to be used as replacement for glass fiber reinforced polymer composite with the benefits of low cost, low density, acceptable specific strength, biodegradability, etc. Until now, mostly natural cellulosic fibers on land have been used as reinforcement for biocomposite. The present study focused on investigating the fabrication and the characterization of biocomposite reinforced with red algae fibers from the sea. The bleached red algae fiber (BRAF) showed very similar crystallinity to the wood cellulose. It has high stability against thermal degradation (maximum thermal decomposition temperature of 359.3$^{\circ}C$) and thermal expansion. Biocomposites reinforced with BRAF have been fabricated by a compression molding method and their mechanical and thermal properties have been studied. The storage modulus and the thermomechanical stability of PBS (polybuthylenesuccinate) matrix are markedly improved by reinforcing with the BRAF. These results indicate that red algae fiber can be used as an excellent reinforcement of biocomposites, which are sometimes called as "green-composites" or "eco-composites".

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.24-29
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• 2008

Polypropylene-natural fiber composites have been prepared and their rheological properties during mixing and thermal properties were investigated. Two types of natural fibers (cotton fiber and wood fiber) were compared. On increasing fiber contents, the torque values of composites were increased, where the cotton fiber exhibited higher increase in torques. The torque values of composites were higher as the MI of PP decreased. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry results showed an increase in the crystallization temperature but a decrease of crystallinity of the PP/natural fiber composites on increasing fiber contents.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.125-131
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• 2011

The effects of chopped kenaf fiber concentration on mechanical property of polypropylene (PP) composite are investigated. The addition of kenaf increased the tensile strength, flexural modulus, impact strength, specific gravity, and HDT, while decreased the elongation%, flexural strength, and melt flow index. The increase of mechanical properties is due to increased surface area contacting between fiber and polymer matrix and fiber-fiber interaction. Volatile extractives in the kenaf seemed to decrease the interfacial adhesion between kenaf surface and PP.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.315-324
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• 2016

Frictional forces between soil and structural elements are of vital importance for the foundation engineering. Although numerous studies were performed about the soil-structure interaction in recent years, the approximate relations proposed in the first half of the 20th century are still used to determine the frictional forces. Throughout history, wood was often used as friction piles. Steel has started to be used in the last century. Today, alternatively these materials, FRP (fiber-reinforced polymer) piles are used extensively due to they can serve for long years under harsh environmental conditions. In this study, various ratios of low plasticity clays (CL) were added to the sand soil and compacted to standard Proctor density. Thus, soils with various internal friction angles (${\phi}$) were obtained. The skin friction angles (${\delta}$) of these soils with FRP, which is a composite material, steel (st37) and wood (pine) were determined by performing interface shear tests (IST). Based on the data obtained from the test results, a chart was proposed, which engineers can use in pile design. By means of this chart, the skin friction angles of the soils, of which only the internal friction angles are known, with FRP, steel and wood materials can be determined easily.