The goal of this research is to study the properties of composite materials where birch false heartwood is used as filler material and suggest an economically suitable use for birch false heartwood. Wood- plastic composites (WPCs) are composite materials that combine the properties of significantly different types of materials. The idea is to form a composite from neat polypropylene (PP) and use both neat and modified birch false heartwood fibres as filler. Latter is regarded as waste in the industry and therefore is usually burned or disposed of. Therefore, it is essential to study the physical and mechanical properties of forementioned composites in order to find a possible use for false heartwood waste. Some of standardized tests have been already done in previous research and the idea is to conduct some of the same tests after immersion in water and artificial UV aging and compare the results in order to assess the effect impacted upon the physico-mechanical properties of wood-plastic composites
Keywords: moisture, UV radiation, false heartwood, wood-plastic composites WPC, tensile strength
Authors
Tanel Tumanov
Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Marek Õunpuu
Gbenga Solomon Ayansola
Heikko Kallakas
Triinu Poltimäe
Jaan Kers
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