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Mechanical and thermal properties of short-coirfiber-reinforced natural rubber/polyethylene composites

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Mechanics of Composite Materials Aims and scope

An Erratum to this article was published on 02 September 2014

Natural rubber (NR) and polyethylene (PE) composites were compounded with chemically treated coir fibers by using a heated two-roll mill. Two chemical treatments of the fibers — by silane and sodium hydroxide — were carried out to improve the interfacial adhesion between them and the polyethylene matrix. The mechanical properties of the composites obtained were evaluated and compared with those made from a neat polymer and untreated fibers. The mechanical properties of the composites, such as the tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and the elongation at break, were examined, and their shrinkage and flame retardant characteristics were measured. From these experiments, the effect of plasma treatment on the mechanical-physical behavior of coconut-fiberreinforced NR/PE composites was identified. In addition, their thermal characteristics were evaluated, and the results showed a slight decrease in them with increasing content of coir fibers.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan (No. 13111102900).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China

    Zh. H. Xu

  2. Institute of Medical Equipment, Tianjin, 300161, China

    Zh. N. Kong

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  1. Zh. H. Xu
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  2. Zh. N. Kong
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Correspondence to Zh. N. Kong.

Additional information

Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 501-508 , May-June, 2014.

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Xu, Z.H., Kong, Z.N. Mechanical and thermal properties of short-coirfiber-reinforced natural rubber/polyethylene composites. Mech Compos Mater 50, 353–358 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11029-014-9421-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11029-014-9421-3

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