Modeling the Rheological Characteristics of Flexible High-Yield Pulp-Fibre-Reinforced Bio-Based Nylon 11 Bio-Composite

Robenson Cherizol^1,2,3*, Mohini Sain^1,3, Jimi Tjong²

¹Centre for Biocomposites and Biomaterials Processing, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
²Powertrain Engineering Research & Development Centre, Ford Motor Company, Windsor, Canada.
³Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

DOI: 10.4236/jeas.2015.51001                

Abstract

The aim of this work was to develop a mathematical model to investigate the rheological characteristics of viscoelastic pulp-fibre composite materials. The rheological properties of High-Yield Pulp (HYP) reinforced bio-based Nylon 11 (Polyamide 11) (PA11) composite (HYP/PA11) were investigated using a capillary rheometer. Novel predicted multiphase rheological-model-based polymer, fibre, and interphasial phases were developed. Rheological characteristics of the compo-site components influence the development of resultant microstructures; this in turn affects mechanical characteristics of a multiphase composite. The main rheological characteristics of polymer materials are viscosity and shear rate. Experimental and theoretical test results of HYP/PA11 show a steep decrease in apparent viscosity with increasing shear rate, and this melt-flow characteristic corresponds to shear-thinning behavior in HYP/PA11. The non-linear mathematical model to predict the rheological behavior of HYP/PA11 was validated experimentally at 200°C and 5000 S^-1 shear rate. Finally, predicted and experimental viscosity results were compared and found to be in a strong agreement.

Keywords

HYP/PA11, Rheological Characteristic, Viscosity/Shear Rate, Modeling

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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