Assessment of Dimensional Stability, Biodegradability, and Fracture Energy of Bio-Composites Reinforced with Novel Pine Cone

Jha K 1 , Tyagi YK 2 , Kumar R 1 , Sharma S 3 , Huzaifah MRM 4 , Li C 5 Show all authors , Ilyas RA 6 , Dwivedi SP 7 , Saxena A 7 , Pramanik A 8

Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara 144411, India
  • 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, DIT University, Dehradun 248009, India
  • 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, IK Gujral Punjab Technical University, Main Campus-Kapurthala, Ibban 144603, India
  • 4 Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, Bintulu 97000, Malaysia
  • 5 School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266520, China
  • 6 School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
  • 7 Department of Mechanical Engineering, G.L. Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management, Greater Noida 201306, India
  • 8 School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth 6102, Australia
Polymers (Basel), 2021 Sep 24;13(19).
PMID: 34641075 DOI: 10.3390/polym13193260

Abstract

In this investigation, biodegradable composites were fabricated with polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix reinforced with pine cone powder (15%, 30%, and 45% by weight) and compatibilized with graphite powder (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% by weight) in polycaprolactone matrix by compression molding technique. The samples were prepared as per ASTM standard and tested for dimensional stability, biodegradability, and fracture energy with scanning electron micrographs. Water-absorption and thickness-swelling were performed to examine the dimensional stability and tests were performed at 23 °C and 50% humidity. Results revealed that the composites with 15 wt % of pine cone powder (PCP) have shown higher dimensional stability as compared to other composites. Bio-composites containing 15-45 wt % of PCP with low graphite content have shown higher disintegration rate than neat PCL. Fracture energy for crack initiation in bio-composites was increased by 68% with 30% PCP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the composites have shown evenly-distributed PCP particles throughout PCL-matrix at significantly high-degrees or quantities of reinforcing.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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