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Effect of Accelerated Weathering on Physico-Mechanical Properties of Polylactide Bio-Composites

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Abstract

In this work, injection moulded hemp fibre reinforced polylactide bio-composites of different fibre contents (0, 10, 20 and 30 wt%) were subjected to accelerated weathering of 12 h cyclic exposures of UV-light at 60 °C, water spray and condensation at 50 °C for 8, 16, 32, 48 and 64 cycles to study the changes in properties such as crystallinity, tensile, flexural, plane-strain fracture toughness (\({K_{Ic}}\)) and strain energy release rate (\({G_{Ic}}\)). The crystallinity of neat polylactide (PLA) was found to increase up to 50.6% after 64 cycles, whereas the crystallinity of composites of different fibre contents was found to increase in the range of 30.6 to 34.5% for 8 to 64 cycles. The overall mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, \({K_{Ic}}\) and \({G_{Ic}}\)) of the composites decreased as the number of cycles increased from 8 to 64. The crystallinity and the residual tensile strength, tensile modulus, tensile strain, \({K_{Ic}}\) and \({G_{Ic}}\) of the composites of 20 wt% fibres were found to be the highest after 64 cycles. In contrast, the residual flexural strength and flexural modulus of the composites of 30 wt% fibres were found to be the maximum after 64 cycles. Absorption of water, destruction of fibre integrity, degradation of PLA matrix, formation of cracks and pores were found to be the main causes of reduction in the mechanical properties of PLA bio-composites.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Composite Materials Research, Pultron Composites Limited, Gisborne, 4010, New Zealand

    Moyeenuddin Ahmad Sawpan

  2. Section of Chemical Engineering Technology, Malaysian Institute of Chemical and Bioengineering Technology, University of Kuala Lumpur, Alor Gajah, 78000, Melaka, Malaysia

    Muhammad Remanul Islam

  3. Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Gambang, 26300, Pahang, Malaysia

    Mohammad Dalour Hossain Beg

  4. The University of Waikato, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand

    Kim Pickering

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  1. Moyeenuddin Ahmad Sawpan
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  2. Muhammad Remanul Islam
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  3. Mohammad Dalour Hossain Beg
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  4. Kim Pickering
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Correspondence to Moyeenuddin Ahmad Sawpan.

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Ahmad Sawpan, M., Islam, M.R., Beg, M.D.H. et al. Effect of Accelerated Weathering on Physico-Mechanical Properties of Polylactide Bio-Composites. J Polym Environ 27, 942–955 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-019-01405-2

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