Thesis
CHARACTERIZATION OF INJECTION MOLDED BASALT-HEMP HYBRID REINFORCED POLYPROPYLENE
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
01/2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000001877
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/125521
Abstract
Composite materials have been integrated into several industries, especially automotive, due to their ability to improve mechanical performance while decreasing weight. The automotive industry is mostly dominated by glass fiber (GF) reinforcements, which have proved to contain excellent strength, but lack in being environmentally friendly. There is a growing shift towards green materials as companies become more conscious about their environmental footprint. The incorporation of natural fibers is gaining attention since they significantly decrease the weight of composites and possess excellent strength-to-weight ratios while being an eco-friendly and renewable source. However, an old but not well-known substitution is basalt, another renewable resource with robust properties and the potential to surpass the performance of GF. The following research has observed how the mechanical, rheological, and environmental behaviors of basalt/hemp (BF/HF) hybrid reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites vary when manipulating the ratios of incorporated constituents. By understanding how the fibers interact with the polymer matrix, mixtures can be tailored to meet the property requirements of specific applications and can be easily integrated into manufacturing processes to successfully replace GF reinforcements. Results show that the incorporation of a coupling agent, MAPP, significantly improves the mechanical performance of BF/HF composites; however, more research needs to be done to match the strength of GF composites. On the contrary, preliminary data shows that BF composites have lower shear viscosity than GF and emits less harmful VOC emissions.
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Details
- Title
- CHARACTERIZATION OF INJECTION MOLDED BASALT-HEMP HYBRID REINFORCED POLYPROPYLENE
- Creators
- Kyleigh Danielle Rhodes
- Contributors
- Vikram Yadama (Advisor)Jinwen Zhang (Committee Member)Hang Liu (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Mechanical and Materials Engineering, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 142
- Identifiers
- 99900606651101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis