Mechanical properties of wood flour/HDPE/ionomer composites

The structure and mechanical properties of wood flour composites with HDPE/ionomer blends as matrices were studied at a fixed wood loading of 60% by weight. It was found that toughness and strength properties of the composites can be improved significantly by adding ionomers of different types and contents. The enhancement in the interfacial interaction was observed through short-time creep analysis. The interfacial interaction and the structure of the matrix phase were characterized through the melting behavior using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and with small strain oscillatory tests on the melts using a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer. Both the sodium and zinc ionomers were found to be immiscible with the HDPE in matrix. The immiscible characteristic was correlated with the interfacial load transfer efficiency as revealed by the creep tests.