Abstract
The rheological properties of wood–plastic composites (WPCs) with different wood fiber contents were investigated using a rotational rheometer under low shear rates. The flow field information was analyzed and simulated by Ansys Polyflow software. The results showed that the WPCs with different wood fiber contents behaved as typical power-law fluids. A higher wood fiber content increased the shear thinning ability and pseudoplasticity of the WPCs. The pressure, velocity, shear rate, and viscosity distributions of the WPC during extrusion could be predicted by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Ansys Polyflow software to explore the effects of different components on the flow field of WPCs.
Highlights
Poplar wood fiber was supplied by Lingshou Junyi Mineral Processing Factory
The wood fiber (WF), HDPE, Maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MAPE), and the lubricant were mixed in a high-speed mixer (100 rpm, HRS-10, Dongguan Huanxin Machinery Co., Ltd., Dongguan, China) for 10 min at 80 ◦ C
Rheological property tests were conducted to investigate the performance of the composites during extrusion
Summary
Wood–plastic composites (WPCs) are made of wood fiber and thermoplastics and are used in many fields, including decoration, construction, and transport fields, due to their easy processability, relatively high mechanical strength, and weather resistance [1,2,3]. Polymeric materials are typically processed using injection, compression, and extrusion molding. Extrusion molding is one of the main processing methods for preparing WPCs because of its stable product quality and low cost [4,5]. To reduce the cost of WPC products, the fiber content in commercial WPCs is usually between 50 and 70 wt% [6]; such high wood fiber content increases the melt flow instability and surface defects during WPC extrusion, which great limit the extrusion speed profile [7,8]
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