Improving durability and mechanical resistance of wood/plastic composites through boric acid treatment

Öz

In this study, the effects of boric acid (BA) treatment on the mechanical properties and decay resistance of poplar wood flour/polypropylene composites (WPCs) were investigated. Three composite groups were prepared: untreated WPC (UT-WPC), BA-treated WPC with in-process powder addition (BA-T-WPC), and BA-pretreated WPC using aqueous BA solution (BA-PT-WPC). Mechanical properties including flexural strength and modulus, tensile strength and modulus, hardness, and impact strength were evaluated before and after exposure to fungal decay (Trametes versicolor). The results showed that boric acid treatment improved several mechanical properties of undecayed WPC. Specifically, BA-T-WPC exhibited the highest flexural strength (50.77 MPa) and modulus (3473 MPa), while BA-PT-WPC demonstrated superior tensile modulus (4563 MPa) and impact strength (49.40 J/m). Decay exposure decreased all mechanical properties across all groups, although BA-treated samples retained slightly higher performance compared to the untreated control. These findings suggest that boric acid can effectively enhance the mechanical behavior and decay resistance of WPCs through both direct and pretreatment methods.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• WPCs
• beech wood
• boric acid
• durability;
• physical and mechanical resistance

Ahşap/plastik kompozitlerin dayanıklılığı ve mekanik direncinin borik asit uygulamasıyla artırılması

Öz

Bu çalışmada, borik asit (BA) işleminin kavak odun unu/polipropilen kompozitlerinin (WPC'ler) mekanik özellikleri ve çürümeye karşı direnci üzerindeki etkileri araştırılmıştır. Üç kompozit grubu hazırlanmıştır: işlenmemiş WPC (UT-WPC), işlem sırasında toz halinde BA ilave edilerek hazırlanmış WPC (BA-T-WPC) ve sulu BA çözeltisiyle ön işlem uygulanmış WPC (BA-PT-WPC). Eğilme direnci, eğilme modülü, çekme direnci,çekme modülü, sertlik, ve darbe direnci gibi mekanik özellikler Trametes versicolor mantarıyla çürütme öncesi ve sonrası değerlendirilmiştir. Sonuçlar, borik asit işleminin çürümemiş WPC'nin bazı mekanik özelliklerini geliştirdiğini göstermiştir. Özellikle, BA-T-WPC en yüksek eğilme direnci (50.77 MPa) ve modülünü (3473 MPa) sergilerken, BA-PT-WPC en yüksek çekme modülü (4563 MPa) ve darbe dayanımı (49.40 J/m) göstermiştir. Çürümeye maruz kalma tüm gruplarda mekanik özellikleri azaltmış olsa da, BA ile muamele edilmiş örnekler, işlem görmemiş kontrol grubuna kıyasla biraz daha yüksek performans göstermiştir. Bu bulgular, borik asidin hem doğrudan hem de ön işlem yoluyla WPC'lerin mekanik davranışını ve çürümeye karşı direncini etkili bir şekilde artırabileceğini göstermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• WPC’ler
• kayın ağacı
• borik asit
• dayanıklılık
• fiziksel ve mekanik direnç

Kaynakça

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