Influence of natural fibres on the mechanical properties of biodegradable polymers
. Conclusion
From the material side, the fibre content is limited by insufficient compatibility or high viscosity on the one hand, and on the other by the drastic shortening of fibres during processing. It can be concluded that the fibre length distribution depends in a very complex manner on the kind of matrix polymer and its rheological properties, the fibre content and the resulting interactions. The results show that polyesters are not very well suited as matrix polymers for native natural fibres as a considerable increase of tensile strength was not observed. On the other hand, the polysaccharides and most likely starch blends appear to be compatible matrices. The reasons are due to the remarkable intrinsic adhesion of the fibre–matrix interface caused by the chemical similarity of such thermoplasts and the plant fibres.
References