Effects of Natural Fiber Reinforcement on Water Absorption of Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (11) ◽  
pp. 165-167
Author(s):  
B.O .Ugwuishiwu B.O .Ugwuishiwu ◽  
◽  
B.O. Mama B.O. Mama ◽  
N. M Okoye N. M Okoye
Keyword(s):  
Water Absorption ◽  
Natural Fiber ◽  
Fiber Reinforcement ◽  
Earth Blocks

Moisture Diffusion in Unsaturated Polyester Composites Reinforced with Macambira Natural Fiber: A Finite-Volume Approach

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
V.C. de Almeida Cruz ◽  
J.M.P.Q. Delgado ◽  
A.G. Barbosa de Lima ◽  
M.M. Silva Nóbrega ◽  
L.H. de Carvalho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Absorption ◽  
Polymer Composites ◽  
Finite Volume ◽  
Natural Fiber ◽  
Diffusion Theory ◽  
Unsaturated Polyester ◽  
Moisture Diffusion ◽  
Moisture Distribution ◽  
Vegetable Fibers ◽  
Finite Volume Approach

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study about water absorption in unsaturated polyester polymer composites reinforced with vegetable fibers, with particular reference to macambira fiber. A mathematical modeling based on the liquid diffusion theory has been proposed and numerical procedures using the finite volume technique are presented and discussed. Results of the water absorption kinetic and moisture content distribution for the polymer composites are shown and analyzed. The knowledge of moisture distribution inside the composite is essential for determination of areas that may show delamination problems (moisture induced degradation) due to the weakness of the fiber-matrix interface and consequently reduction in the mechanical properties of the composites.

scholarly journals Preliminary Study of Oil Palm Decanter Cake Natural Polymer Composite (OPDC-NPC)

2014 ◽  
Vol 911 ◽  
pp. 40-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Aqif Adam ◽  
Alawi Sulaiman ◽  
Che Mohd Som Said ◽  
Ayub M. Som ◽  
Azhari Samsu Bahruddin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tensile Strength ◽  
Water Absorption ◽  
Polymer Composite ◽  
Palm Oil ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Absorption Rate ◽  
Natural Fiber ◽  
Natural Polymer ◽  
Water Absorption Rate ◽  
Decanter Cake

Palm oil industry produces huge amount of oil palm decanter cake (OPDC). Currently it is not yet commercialized however due to its characteristics, it can be used to produce oil palm decanter cake natural polymer composite (OPDC-NPC). NPC is a type of material made by combining natural fiber with polymer. Therefore the objective of this paper is to produce NPC from OPDC and then determine its mechanical and physical properties such as elasticity, stiffness, tensile strength and water absorption rate. The OPDC samples were collected from Felda Trolak Palm Oil Mill. Prior to NPC development, the oil was removed from OPDC using hexane soxhlet extraction method. OPDC-NPC was fabricated using molding method where the mixture of 95% polypropylene (PP) and 5% OPDC were mixed using twin-screw extruder. The results showed that OPDC-NPC has an elasticity of 2231 MPa, stiffness of 30 MPa, tensile strength of 32 MPa and water absorption rate of 0.16 % which was slightly better with the other types of fibers.

Natural Aerobic Degradation of Polylactic Acid (Composites) with Natural Fiber Additives

2018 ◽  
Vol 919 ◽  
pp. 167-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Prusek ◽  
Martin Boruvka ◽  
Petr Lenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Composite Material ◽  
Polylactic Acid ◽  
Natural Fiber ◽  
Fiber Reinforcement ◽  
Degradation Process ◽  
Composite Sample ◽  
Aerobic Degradation ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Natural Degradation

This paper deals with natural degradation of PLA (polylactic acid) composites with natural fiber reinforcement in non-simulated conditions. Composite material was made of PLA and 6 different types of biodegradable fibers. Fibers made from pulp, wool, bamboo, soya, flax and hemp. All samples had 20% volume of fibers. Three of each composite sample were placed in compost (aerobic surrounding) for 72 weeks. All samples were examined at the beginning every 2 weeks to observe if the degradation process occurred and all samples were examined at the end of 72 weeks period to observe results of degradation of each composite material.

scholarly journals Water Absorption and Hygrothermal Aging Behavior of Wood-Polypropylene Composites

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Xiaomin Guo ◽  
Defang Zhao ◽  
Liu Liu ◽  
Ruiyun Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Water Absorption ◽  
Natural Fiber ◽  
Glass Fibers ◽  
Diffusion Constant ◽  
Water Molecules ◽  
Wood Powder ◽  
Polypropylene Composites ◽  
Effect Of Water ◽  
Composite Samples

Environmentally sound composites reinforced with natural fibers or particles interest many researchers and engineers due to their great potential to substitute the traditional composites reinforced with glass fibers. However, the sensitivity of natural fiber-reinforced composites to water has limited their applications. In this paper, wood powder-reinforced polypropylene composites (WPCs) with various wood content were prepared and subjected to water absorption tests to study the water absorption procedure and the effect of water absorbed in the specimens on the mechanical properties. Water soaking tests were carried out by immersion of composite specimens in a container of distilled water maintained at three different temperatures, 23, 60 and 80 °C. The results showed that the moisture absorption content was related to wood powder percentage and they had a positive relationship. The transfer process of water molecules in the sample was found to follow the Fickian model and the diffusion constant increased with elevated water temperature. In addition, tensile and bending tests of both dry and wet composite samples were conducted and the results indicated that water absorbed in composite specimens degraded their mechanical properties. The tensile strength and modulus of the composites reinforced with 15, 30, 45 wt % wood powder decreased by 5.79%, 17.2%, 32.06% and 25.31%, 33.6%, 47.3% respectively, compared with their corresponding dry specimens. The flexural strength and modulus of the composite samples exhibited a similar result. Furthermore, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) also confirmed that the detrimental effect of water molecules on the composite specimens.

scholarly journals Mechanical and Thermal Performance Characterisation of Compressed Earth Blocks

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabete R. Teixeira ◽  
Gilberto Machado ◽  
Adilson de P. Junior ◽  
Christiane Guarnier ◽  
Jorge Fernandes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Compressive Strength ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Water Absorption ◽  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Pulse Velocity ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Compressed Earth Blocks ◽  
Earth Blocks

The present research is focused on an experimental investigation to evaluate the mechanical, durability, and thermal performance of compressed earth blocks (CEBs) produced in Portugal. CEBs were analysed in terms of electrical resistivity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, compressive strength, total water absorption, water absorption by capillarity, accelerated erosion test, and thermal transmittance evaluated in a guarded hotbox setup apparatus. Overall, the results showed that compressed earth blocks presented good mechanical and durability properties. Still, they had some issues in terms of porosity due to the particle size distribution of soil used for their production. The compressive strength value obtained was 9 MPa, which is considerably higher than the minimum requirements for compressed earth blocks. Moreover, they presented a heat transfer coefficient of 2.66 W/(m2·K). This heat transfer coefficient means that this type of masonry unit cannot be used in the building envelope without an additional thermal insulation layer but shows that they are suitable to be used in partition walls. Although CEBs have promising characteristics when compared to conventional bricks, results also showed that their proprieties could even be improved if optimisation of the soil mixture is implemented.

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