The properties of flax fiber reinforced wood flour/high density polyethylene composites

Flax fiber (FF) was used to reinforce wood flour/high density polyethylene composites (WF/PE). WF/PE particles were uniformly mixed with FF via high-speed mixing and then extruded with a single screw extruder to prepare FF reinforced WF/PE composites (FF/WF/PE). Mechanical testing, dynamic mechanical analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), creep measurement and Torque rheology were used to characterize the resulting composites. The results indicate that the mechanical performance of the composites could be remarkably improved by adding a limited amount of FF. The flexural strength and modulus increased by 14.6 and 51.4%, respectively (FF content of 9 wt%), while the unnotched impact strength could be increased by 26.5% (FF content of 12 wt%). The creep resistance and toughness of the composite was markedly improved without changing the plastic content of the composite material.