Effect of knitted and woven textile structures on the mechanical performance of poly(lactic acid) textile insert injection‐compression moldings

Abstract

AbstractThe main issue concerning poly(lactic acid) (PLA) has been its brittleness, thus limiting its potential to only a minute number of applications. Some attempts have been made to modify or blend PLA with tougher materials to improve its deformability, with varying degrees of success. This study primarily concentrates on enhancing the toughness of PLA without the incorporation of any additives whatsoever, thus the end product would consist of 100% biodegradable PLA. It is shown here that the toughness of PLA can be significantly enhanced by merely improvising processing techniques. The textile‐insert molding technique was applied in this case, whereby PLA fabrics were attached to the surface of PLA resin by injection‐compression molding. It was found that the molding conditions have an adverse effect on the interfacial adhesion between the fabrics and resin, which subsequently affect the impact performance of the moldings. The fabric was able to distribute impact loads toward a larger area thus enhancing impact resistance of the substrate resin. However, knitted and woven fabrics would impart different impact load dispersion characteristics due to their inherent variation in stretchability. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012