Abstract
Regenerated cellulose fibres are an important part of the forest industry, and they can be used in the form of fabrics as reinforcement materials. Similar to the natural fibres (NFs), such as flax, hemp and jute, that are widely used in the automotive industry, these fibres possess good potential to be used for semi-structural applications. In this work, the mechanical properties of regenerated cellulose fabric-reinforced poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) (Elium®) composite were investigated and compared with those of its natural fibre composite counterparts. The developed composite demonstrated higher tensile strength and ductility, as well as comparable flexural properties with those of NF-reinforced epoxy and Elium® composite systems, whereas the Young’s modulus was lower. The glass transition temperature demonstrated a value competitive (107.7 °C) with that of other NF composites. Then, the behavior of the bio-composite under bending and loading was simulated, and a materials model was used to simulate the behavior of a car door panel in a flexural scenario. Modelling can contribute to predicting the structural behavior of the bio-based thermoplastic composite for secondary applications, which is the aim of this work. Finite element simulations were performed to assess the deflection and force transfer mechanism for the car door interior.
Highlights
Pulp, paper and wood fibres, along with plant fibres, for instance, jute, flax and hemp, have attracted considerable attention in the past two decades
A series of experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties of a viscose-type fabric-reinforced thermoplastic composite
It was indicated that the developed material has good potential to be used for interior applications, which was one of the main aims of this study
Summary
Paper and wood fibres, along with plant fibres, for instance, jute, flax and hemp, have attracted considerable attention in the past two decades. Regenerated cellulose fibres possess unique characteristics in the sense that they offer the merit of both natural (NF) and synthetic fibres. These include on the one hand low density, CO2 neutrality [4], nonabrasiveness to processing equipment [4] and the biodegradability [5] of NFs, and on the other hand, the physical, mechanical and uniform morphological properties of synthetic ones. Rayon is manufactured by the regeneration of dissolved cellulose and is utilised in the textile yarn forms. Due to their high tenacity, which leads to good impact resistance, high specific strength and low density (~1.5 g/cm3), rayon yarns have been utilised to reinforce car tires as tire cord [6]
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