Abstract

CAMPANA, Orlando  and  GUERRERO, Víctor Hugo. Mechanical and Thermal Characterization of Poly lactic Acid (PLA) reinforced with Bamboo Powder (PB). Rev Politéc. (Quito) [online]. 2018, vol.42, n.1, pp.17-24. ISSN 2477-8990.

Using biodegradable polymers such as poly lactic acid (PLA) has grown significantly due to its low environmental impact. However, the mechanical and thermal properties of these materials have limitations to expand their fields of application. An option to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of the PLA is to reinforce it with lignocellulosic material, thus constituting a composite material such as wood plastic composite (WPC) which has potential applications as a substitute for conventional wood. Bamboo is considered to be renewable in a short time, in addition to having good structural properties and high availability in different geographical areas of Ecuador, it can be predicted that bamboo powder (PB), as a result of the sawmill residue is an interesting reinforcement for the processing of wood plastic composite (WPC). This article describes the preparation by extrusion and injection molding processes of a composite with PLA polymeric matrix reinforced with PB. The mechanical properties evaluated were: tensile strength, flexural strength and hardness, whereas that thermal properties were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and thermomechanical analysis (TMA). Elastic modulus increased to 30% in composite, as also crystallinity and thermal expansion coefficient were improved because of bamboo powder favors crystallization. Whereas degradation temperature decreased because of organic material inclusion within the polymer.

Keywords : Composite; poly lactic acid; bamboo powder; wood plastic composite; mechanical properties; thermal properties.

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