| The fracture toughness of wood fibre reinforced polyethylene has been studied and several methods of improving this important property have been developed. A mechanistic fracture model which incorporates the features of wood fibres and the fibre/matrix interface was also developed.The modeling revealed that the key to enhancing the fracture toughness is to promote fibre pull-out during composite fracture. Based on the modeling, three novel techniques---fibre selection, fibre/matrix interface modification, and fibre alignment---were used to enhance the fracture toughness.The experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of these three techniques. The fracture toughness of the composites was enhanced without sacrificing other mechanical properties such as the tensile strength and modulus. Because the modifications suggested are less expensive than traditional methods, the modified WFRP products are commercially significant. |
