Mechanical properties of an injected silk fibre reinforced PLA composite

Ho, Mei-Po and Lau, Kin-tak and Wang, Hao and Bhattacharyya, Debes (2011) Mechanical properties of an injected silk fibre reinforced PLA composite. In: 19th International Symposium on Processing and Fabrication of Advanced Materials (PFAM XIX), 14-17 Jan 2011, Auckland, New Zealand.

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Abstract

Chopped silkworm silk fibres and Poly-lactic acid (PLA) were mixed to form a fully biodegradable thermoplastic composite. Injection moulding process was used to mix these constituents together at a controlled temperature range. The mechanical properties of the composite were examined through tensile and flexural property and Izod impact tests. It was found that the Young's and flexural moduli of the composite increased while their strengths and impact resistance decreased during the tests as compared with a PLA sample. Early fibre fractures observed from micrographs explain the reasons of enhanced moduli and reduction of strengths.

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Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Commonwealth Reporting Category E) (Paper)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Faculty / Department / School:	Historic - Faculty of Engineering and Surveying - Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Date Deposited:	23 May 2012 04:33
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2014 21:49
Uncontrolled Keywords:	silkworms; silk fibres; composites; thermoplastics; injection moulding; Izod
Fields of Research :	09 Engineering > 0912 Materials Engineering > 091202 Composite and Hybrid Materials 09 Engineering > 0903 Biomedical Engineering > 090301 Biomaterials 03 Chemical Sciences > 0305 Organic Chemistry > 030502 Natural Products Chemistry
Socio-Economic Objective:	B Economic Development > 86 Manufacturing > 8606 Industrial Chemicals and Related Products > 860607 Plastic Products (incl. Construction Materials)
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/18792

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