Plastics Rubber and Composites 

About: Plastics Rubber and Composites is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Natural rubber & Ultimate tensile strength. It has an ISSN identifier of 1465-8011. Over the lifetime, 1456 publications have been published receiving 15229 citations. The journal is also known as: Plastics, rubber and composites.

A review on the characterisation of natural fibres and their composites after alkali treatment and water absorption

Abstract: Natural fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composites are gaining increased attention among the researchers due to their low density, biodegradability, abundance, good mechanical properties, etc. Significant amount of research works can be found on the material characterisation of natural fibres like hemp, flax, sisal, kenaf, coir and jute and their composites based on the polymer matrices. Natural fibres are hydrophilic in nature and exhibit poor interfacial adhesion between fibre and matrix. Modification of the fibre surface by chemical methods, such as alkalisation, benzoylation and acetylation, has been used by researchers to improve the above-mentioned shortcomings. This review paper focuses on the effect of alkali treatment on the material properties of various natural fibres and their composites along with their water absorption behaviour.

Mode II fracture toughness evaluation using four point bend, end notched flexure test

Abstract: A four point bend, end notched flexure test is described for determining the mode II fracture toughness of laminated composites. The test consists of a unidirectional laminate with a midplane delamination loaded in four point bending. The test configuration is analysed by beam theory and by finite element analysis. When the delamination front is in between the inner load ing rollers the energy release rate, expressed in terms of the applied load, is independent of delamination length. In addition, delamination growth is shown to be stable for a displacement controlled test. The advantages of this test over conventional mode II tests are the reduction of frictional effects and the ability to perform an experimental compliance calibration as the delamination advances. Further, an R-curve characterisation may be conducted. This results in a reduced time to conduct tests to generate mode II data compared with the tests currently used by industry.

Effect of the printing bed temperature on the adhesion of parts produced by fused filament fabrication

Abstract: For parts produced by fused filament fabrication (FFF) the adhesion between the first printed layer and the printing bed is crucial, since it provides the foundation to the subsequent layers. Inade...

Characterisation of carbon fibres recycled from scrap composites using fluidised bed process

Abstract: A carbon fibre recycling process for scrap composites based on fluidised bed technology has been developed. This paper describes the recycling process and the characterisation methods used to analyse the quality of recycled fibre. They include: the measurement of fibre length distribution by image analysis; tensile properties by single fibre testing; and the examination of surface contamination and surface chemistry of fibre by SEM and XPS. Recycled fibres of up to 10 mm mean length were recovered and they retained ~75% of their tensile strength, while the Young's modulus remained unchanged and the surface condition was similar to the virgin fibre.

Auxetic polypropylene fibres:Part 1 - Manufacture and characterisation

Abstract: The term 'auxetic' is applied to materials that possess a negative Poisson's ratio ν. The use of auxetic polymers has been limited because of problems with deploying them in their fabricated forms, i.e. as 10 mm diameter cylinders. This paper reports the successful development of a processing route to produce a more useful and usable form of auxetic polymeric material, namely fibres. A conventional polymer processing technique (melt spinning) is the basis of this technique, with novel modifications. Video extensometry was used to measure the Poisson's ratio and a value of ν = -0.60±0.05 was obtained.