Thesis
Thermoplastic encapsulation of wood strand composite using a tie-layer
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2008
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/102219
Abstract
One of the challenges in using wood or wood composites for exterior applications is durability. The approach taken in this study to increase the durability of structural composites for exterior applications was to apply an encapsulating thermoplastic to the surface. This study had two main objectives, to determine the optimum processing parameters for the maximizing the bond strength, and to evaluate the interfacial bond strength of the encapsulating thermoplastic. The optimum processing parameters were determined to be a platen temperature of 180ºC, a pressing pressure of 1035 kPa (150 psi) and a press time of 300 seconds. High density polyethylene (HDPE) was chosen to be used in this study because it is an environmentally friendly and an economical thermoplastic. It has been shown in previous studies (Wolcott and Englund 1999), however, that HDPE does not bond well to wood substrates. So to increase the bond strength of the HDPE to the wood substrate, a tie-layer was included in the specimen lay-up. To determine the bond strength two tests were conducted, a 90º peel test and a block shear test. To test the durability of the thermoplastic barrier layer an accelerated aging test was performed before the bond strength was tested. It was found that the tie-layers increased the bond strength by approximately 35 percent.
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Details
- Title
- Thermoplastic encapsulation of wood strand composite using a tie-layer
- Creators
- Steven Gerard Michael
- Contributors
- Vikram Yadama (Degree Supervisor)Donald A. Bender (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525175101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis