Abstract
This article aims to study the non-Fickian water absorption process in vegetable fiber-reinforced polymer composite using the Langmuir-type model, evaluating the influence of mass diffusivity on the process. The numerical solutions of the governing equations were obtained using the finite-volume method. Transient results of the local and average moisture content, free and entrapped water molecules concentration considering the constant diffusivity and as a function of the average and local moisture content were presented and analyzed. It was observed that the mass diffusivity effectively influences the water absorption behavior, especially in the initial time of the process, where higher differences in the water migration rates into the material are found. The largest free and entrapped water molecule concentration gradients were found close to the composite surface, especially when considering constant mass diffusivity.
Highlights
Polymers 2021, 13, 761. https://Recently, environmental issues have been strongly considered in the context of technological and sustainable development
The use of vegetable fiber as reinforcing to replace synthetic fibers has been presented as a potential substitute, decreasing the pollutants generation and resulting in products with adequate performance and quality that meet the demands of different applications [1,2]
In compliment to the works reported in the literature, this research aims aims to evaluate the effect of the mass diffusion coefficient on the water absorption ki- kinetics in to evaluate the effect of the mass diffusion coefficient on the water absorption netics in vegetable fiber-reinforced polymer composites using an advanced diffusional vegetable fiber-reinforced polymer composites using an advanced diffusional macroscopic macroscopicmodeling modelingthat thatpredicts predictsmolecular molecularinteractions interactions between water and com- material, between water and thethe composite posite material, as well as the material position in the water bath
Summary
Polymers 2021, 13, 761. https://Recently, environmental issues have been strongly considered in the context of technological and sustainable development. One of the main advantages of the use of vegetable fiber reinforcement in the polymer matrix is its low density, which allows the manufacture of lighter products with specific mechanical properties comparable to conventional fibers [3]. Despite these positive effects, the hydrophilic nature of the vegetable fibers increases the moisture absorption levels, directly affecting the mechanical properties and composites’ performance in operation [4,5]. It is important to study the behavior of these materials when exposed to moisture in order to estimate the consequences in their properties and to minimize these effects, especially at higher temperatures
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