2 research outputs found
Chopped basalt fibres: A new perspective in reinforcing poly(lactic acid) to produce injection moulded engineering composites from renewable and natural resources
This paper focuses on the reinforcing of Poly(lactic acid) with chopped basalt fibres by using silane treated and
untreated basalt fibres. Composite materials with 5–10–15–20–30–40 wt% basalt fibre contents were prepared from silane
sized basalt fibres using extrusion, and injection moulding, while composites with 5–10–15 wt% basalt fibre contents were
also prepared by using untreated basalt fibres as control. The properties of the injection moulded composites were extensively
examined by using quasi-static (tensile, three-point bending) and dynamic mechanical tests (notched and unnotched
Charpy impact tests), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), heat deflection temperature
(HDT) analysis, dimensional stability test, as well as melt flow index (MFI) analysis and scanning electron microscopic
(SEM) observations. It was found that silane treated chopped basalt fibres are much more effective in reinforcing
Poly(lactic acid) than natural fibres; although basalt fibres are not biodegradable but they are still considered as natural (can
be found in nature in the form of volcanic rocks) and biologically inert. It is demonstrated in this paper that by using basalt
fibre reinforcement, a renewable and natural resource based composite can be produced by injection moulding with excellent
mechanical properties suitable even for engineering applications. Finally it was shown that by using adequate drying of
the materials, composites with higher mechanical properties can be achieved compared to literature data