Abstract
This study investigates the effects of glass fiber on the mechanical and thermal properties of bacterial polyester, poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH). PHBH composites were prepared by melt‐compounding and injection molding, using PHBH with 3‐hydroxyhexanoate (3HH) molar fractions of 5.6% and 11.1%, and short glass fiber content varying from 0 to 23 volume percent. Tensile test results suggested that the glass fiber addition significantly increased Young's modulus and strength of PHBH. The Halpin–Tsai and Tsai–Pagano equations were used to predict Young's modulus of PHBH composites while the modified Kelly–Tyson model with the Bowyer–Bader method were used for strength prediction. These predictions gave reasonable estimates for the mechanical properties of PHBH composites. Differential scanning calorimetry results suggested that glass fiber addition had little effect on the degree of crystallinity of PHBH, as well as on the crystallization half‐time of PHBH containing 5.6 mol% 3HH. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:491–503, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
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