Weibull analysis for the diameter dependence of the elastic modulus of curaua fibers

The curaua fiber is one of the strongest lignocellulosic fibers and is currently being considered as reinforcement of polymer composites for industrial applications such as automobile interior components and bicycle helmets. The tensile strength of the curaua fiber was found to display an inverse va...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Monteiro,S.N.; Lopes,F.P.D.; Ferreira,A.S.
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:2013
Country:Brasil
Institution:RLAM
Repository:Matéria (Rio de Janeiro. Online)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:scielo:S1517-70762013000100007
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1517-70762013000100007
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:curaua fiber
diameter dependence
elastic modulus
Weibull analysis
Description
Summary:The curaua fiber is one of the strongest lignocellulosic fibers and is currently being considered as reinforcement of polymer composites for industrial applications such as automobile interior components and bicycle helmets. The tensile strength of the curaua fiber was found to display an inverse variation with its corresponding equivalent diameter. Since the stiffness of the fiber is also important for its use as composite reinforcement, the present work investigated the dependence of the elastic modulus of curaua fibers with the associated diameters. The results confirmed the existence of an inverse dependence between the elastic modulus and the fiber diameter. In principle, this could allow a selection of stiffer curaua fibers to be used as reinforcement in polymer composites with comparatively higher elastic modulus. A possible mechanism for this inverse dependence is discussed following structural differences between thicker and thinner fibers.