• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.101-109
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• 1996

Effects of process variables were evaluated in physical properties of the wood fiber-thermoplastic fiber composites using nonwoven web method. Turbulent air mixer using compressed air was employed to mix wood fiber with two types of thermoplastic polypropylene and nylon 6 fibers. The optimal hot press temperature and time were found to be $190^{\circ}C$ and 9 minutes in wood fiber-polypropylene fiber composite and to be $220^{\circ}C$ and 9 minutes in wood fiber-nylon 6 fiber composite. As the density of wood fiber-polypropylene fiber composite and wood fiber-nylon 6 fiber composite increased, the physical properties were improved The density appeared to be the most significant factor on physical properties in the statistical analysis. The composition ratio of polypropylene or nylon 6 fiber to wood fiber was considered not to be statistically significant factor. The thickness swelling decreased somewhat in wood fiber-polypropylene fiber composite and wood fiber-nylon 6 fiber composite as the content of synthetic fiber increased. As the increase of mat moisture content, dimensional stability was improved in wood fiber-polypropylene fiber composite but not in wood fiber-nylon 6 fiber composite.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.58-65
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• 1997

This research was carried out to evaluate the effect of process variables on mechanical properties of the wood fiber-thermoplastic fiber composites by turbulent air mixing method. The turbulent air mixer used in this experiment was specially designed in order to mix wood fiber and thermoplastic polypropylene or nylon 6 fiber, and was highly efficient in the mixing of relatively short plastic fiber and wood fiber in a short time without any trouble. The adequate hot - pressing temperature and time in our experimental condition were $190^{\circ}C$ and 9 minutes in 90% wood fiber - 10% polypropylene fiber composite and $220^{\circ}C$ and 9 minutes in 90% wood fiber 10% nylon 6 fiber composite. Both in the wood fiber - polypropylene fiber composite and wood fiber- nylon 6 fiber composite, the mechanical properties improved with the increase of density. Statistically, the density of composite appeared to function as the most significant factor in mechanical properties. Within the 5~15% composition ratios of polypropylene or nylon 6 fiber to wood fiber, the composition ratio showed no significant effect on the mechanical properties. Bending and tensile strength of composite, however, slightly increased with the increase of synthetic fiber content. The increase of mat moisture content showed no significant improvement of mechanical properties both in wood fiber - polypropylene fiber composite and wood fiber nylon 6 fiber composite. Wood fiber - nylon 6 fiber composite was superior in th mechanical strength to wood fiber-polypropylene fiber composite, which may be related to higher melt flow index of nylon 6 fiber(22g/10min) than of polypropylene fiber(4.3g/10min).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.137-140
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• 2005

Exfoliated nanocomposites of polypropylene/layered silicate were prepared by a melt compounding process using maleic anhydride modified polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) and organoclay. It was found that polypropylene/layered silicate nanocomposites exhibited remarkable reinforcement compared with the pure polypropylene or conventional composite filled with agglomerated organoclay. The polypropylene /layered silicate nanocomposites showed stronger and earlier shear thinning behaviors and outstanding strain hardening behavior than pure polypropylene or other conventional composites in shear and uniaxial elongational flows, respectively. We simulated rheological modeling for the pure polymer matrix and polypropylene/layered silicate nanocomposite in shear and elongational flows using K-BKZ integral constitutive equation. The two types of K-BKZequations have been examined to describe experimental results of shear and uniaxial elongational viscosities of pure polypropylene and polypropylene/layered silicate nanocomposite.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.36-46
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• 2001

This study was to find a way of reusing wood and plastic wastes, which considered as a troublesome problem to be solved in this age of mass production and consumption, in manufacturing wood fiber-polypropylene fiber composite panel. And the feasibility of this composite panel as a substitute for existing headliner base panel of automobile was also discussed, especially based on physical and mechanical performance. Nonwoven web composite panels were made from wood fiber and polypropylene fiber formulations of 50 : 50, 60 : 40, and 70 : 30, based on oven-dry weight, with densities of 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7 g/$cm^3$. At the same density levels, control fiberboards were also manufactured for performance comparison with the composite panels. Their physical and mechanical properties were tested according to ASTM D 1037-93. To elucidate thickness swelling mechanism of composite panel through the observation of morphological change of internal structures, the specimens before and after thickness swelling test by 24-hour immersion in water were used in scanning electron microscopy. Test results in this study showed that nonwoven web composite panel from wood fibers and polypropylene fibers had superior physical and mechanical properties to control fiberboard. In the physical properties of composite panel, dimensional stability improved as the content of polypropylene fiber increased, and the formulation of wood fiber and polypropylene fiber was considered to be a significant factor in the physical properties. Water absorption decreased but thickness swelling slightly increased with the increase of panel density. In the mechanical properties of composite panel, the bending modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) appeared to improve with the increase of panel density under all the tested conditions of dry, heated, and wet. The formulation of wood fiber and polypropylene fiber was considered not to be a significant factor in the mechanical properties. All the bending MOR values under the dry, heated, and wet conditions met the requirements in the existing headliner base panel of resin felt.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.385-394
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• 2007

In this study, the effect of molding condition on the tensile properties for plain woven hemp fiber reinforced green composite was examined. The tensile properties of the composite were compared with those of the plain woven jute fiber composite fabricated by the same process. Emulsion type biodegradable resin or polypropylene sheet was used as matrix. The composites were processed by the compression molding where the molding temperature and its heating time were changed from 160 to $190^{\circ}C$ and from 15 to 25 min, respectively. The following results were obtained from the experiment. The tensile property of hemp fiber reinforced polypropylene is improved in comparison with polypropylene bulk. The strength of composite is about 2.6 times that of the resin bulk specimen. Hemp fiber is more effective than jute fiber as reinforcement for green composite from the viewpoint of strength. The molding temperature and time are suitable below $180^{\circ}C$ and 20 min for hemp fiber reinforced green composite. Hemp fiber green composite has a tendency to decrease its tensile strength when fiber content is over 50 wt%.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.47-58
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• 2001

For finding both ways of recycling the wood and plastic wastes and solving the problem of free formaldehyde gas emission through manufacturing wood particle-polypropylene fiber composite board without addition of formaldehyde-based thermosetting resin adhesive, control particleboards and nonwoven web composite boards from wood particle and polypropylene fiber formulation of 50 : 50, 60 : 40, and 70 : 30 were manufactured at density levels of 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, and 0.8 g/$cm^3$, and were tested both in the physical and mechanical properties according to ASTM D 1037-93. In the physical properties, control particleboard had significantly higher moisture content than composite board. In composite board, moisture content decreased with the increase of target density only in the board with higher content of polypropylene fiber and also appeared to increase with the increase of wood particle content at a given target density. Control particleboard showed significantly greater water absorption than composite board and its water absorption decreased with the increase of target density. In composite board, water absorption decreased with the increase of target density at a given formulation but increased with the increase of wood particle content at a given target density. After 2 and 24 hours immersion, control particleboard was significantly higher in thickness swelling than composite board and its thickness swelling increased with the increase of target density. In composite board, thickness swelling did not vary significantly with the target density at a given formulation but its thickness swelling increased as wood particle content increased at a given target density. Static bending MOR and MOE under dry and wet conditions increased with the increase of target density at a given formulation of wood particle and polypropylene fiber. Especially, the MOR and MOE under wet condition were considerably larger in composite board than in control particleboard. In general, composite board showed superior bending strength properties to control particleboard, And the composite board made from wood particle and polypropylene fiber formulation of 50 : 50 at target density of 0.8 g/$cm^3$ exhibited the greatest bending strength properties. Though problems in uniform mixing and strong binding of wood particle with polypropylene fiber are unavoidable due to their extremely different shape and polarity, wood particle-polypropylene fiber composite boards with higher performance, as a potential substitute for the commercial particleboards, could be made just by controlling processing variables.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.520-525
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• 2016

In this study, a mixture of polypropylene fibers and glass fibers were used to weave polypropylene/glass fiber-reinforced composite panels with characteristics such as highly elongated short fibers, high ductility, anti-fouling, and hydrophobicity as a result of a directional property. Mechanical and environmental tests were carried out with specimens fabricated with this composite panel, and its applicability to shipbuilding and ocean leisure industries was evaluated through a comparison with existing glass fiber-reinforced composite materials. The results of this experiment verified the excellence of the polypropylene/glass-mixed woven fiber-reinforced composite material compared to the existing glass fiber-reinforced composite material. However, the forming process needs to be changed to improve the weak interfacial bonding, and the properties of the composite material itself could be improved through mixed weaving with other fibers after development. Maximizing of the advantages of the polypropylene fibers and overcoming their shortcomings will improve their applicability to the shipbuilding, ocean leisure, and other industries, and increase the value of polypropylene fibers in the composite material market.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2004

The development of high tenacity, high modulus monofilaments from Polypropylene/Clay nanocomposite has been investigated. Pure sodium montmorillonite nanoclay was modified using hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB) via an ion exchange reaction. Pure and modified clay were characterized through X-ray diffraction, FTIR and TGA. The modified clay was melt blended with polypropylene (PP) in presence of a swelling agent. Composite filaments from PP/Clay nanocomposite were prepared at different weight percentages of nanoclay and the spinning and drawing conditions were optimized. The filaments were characterized for their mechanical, morphological and thermal properties. The composite PP filaments with modified clay showed improved tensile strength, modulus and reduced elongation at break. The composite filaments with unmodified clay did not show any improvement in tensile strength but the modulus improved. The sharp and narrow X-ray diffraction peaks of PP/nanoclay composite filaments indicate increase in crystallinity in presence of modified clay at small loadings (0.5 %). The improved thermal stability was observed in filaments with modified as well as unmodified clays.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.33 no.6 s.134
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• pp.46-54
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• 2005

To make the composite panels of wood particles and recycled plastics, the recycled polypropylene was used. In the composite panels the sizes of wood particles were 1/32", 1/4" and 1/2" mesh, and the composition ratios of the recycled plastics were 10%, 30%, 50% and 70%. The physical and mechanical properties of the composite panels were investigated. As the composition ratio of wood particle increases, the density increases, while it decreases at the same composition ratio because the size of wood particle increases. As the composition ratio of recycled polypropylene increases from 10% to 30%, both thickness swelling and water adsorption significantly decrease. As the composition ratio of recycled polypropylene increases, the modulus of rupture in bending strength increases, but the modulus of elasticity in bending strength decreases. SEM shows that the dissolved recycled polypropylene penetrates into tracheid and pit, and bonds mechanically to other wood particle and matrix to increase the bonding strength and improve the physical and mechanical properties of composite panel.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.48-58
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• 2002

This study was carried out through scanning electron microscopy to elucidate the mechanism of thickness swelling in wood particle-polypropylene composite which is a typical way of using wood and plastic materials. For this purpose, control particleboards and nonwoven web composites from wood particle and polypropylene fiber formulations of 100:0, 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50 were manufactured at target density levels of 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, and 0.8 g/cm³. Their water absorption and thickness swelling were tested according to ASTMD 1037-93 (1995). To elucidate thickness swelling mechanism of composite through the observation of morphological change of internal structures, the specimens before and after thickness swelling test by 24-hour immersion in water were used in scanning electron microscopy. From the scanning electron microscopy, thickness swelling of composite was thought to be caused by the complicated factors of degree of built-up internal stresses by mat compression and/or amount of wood particles encapsulated with molten polypropylene fibers during hot pressing. In the composites with wood particle contents of 50 to 60% at target densities of 0.5 to 0.8 g/cm³ and with wood particle content of 70% at target densities of 0.5 to 0.7 g/cm³, thickness swellings seemed to be largely dependent upon the restricted water uptake by encapsulated wood particles with molten polypropylene fibers. Thickness swelling in the composite with wood particle content of 70% at target density of 0.8 g/cm³, however, was thought to be principally dependent upon the increased springback phenomenon by built-up internal stresses of compressed mat.