Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research 2 (2019) 136e142

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research

journal homepage: http://www.keaipublishing.com/aiepr

Fatigue analysis and fatigue reliability of polypropylene/wood flour

composites
Md Minhaz-Ul Haque a, b, *, Koichi Goda a, Shinji Ogoe c, Yuta Sunaga d
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yamaguchi University, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8611, Japan
b
Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Islamic University, Kushtia, 7003, Bangladesh
c
Technology Development Centre, TOCLAS Co., Shizuoka, 432-8001, Japan
d
Kayaku Akzo Co., Sanyoonoda-City, Yamaguchi, 757-0002, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Fatigue analysis and fatigue reliability of polypropylene (PP)/wood flour (WF) composites were studied.
Received 12 March 2019 The composites were prepared by incorporating wood flour with and without maleic anhydride and
Received in revised form peroxide (MAPO) into cellulose nanofibres impregnated polypropylene. The prepared composites were
22 April 2019
then characterized by tensile and fatigue analyses. The tensile strength and fatigue life of MAPO mixed
Accepted 4 July 2019
composites were lower compared with the composites without MAPO. It was also found that the fatigue
experimental data of the composites were widely scattered regardless of the type of composites. Hence,
Keywords:
in this study, a fatigue reliability of the composites was sought. Based on the fatigue experimental data,
Melt-viscosity
Wood plastic composite (WPC)
95% confidence band were created. Since 95% confidence lower band ensure 95% survivability and only
Fatigue behavior 5% failure of the composites, hence, from this study, it is suggested that the fatigue life obtained from 95%
Wood flour confidence lower band can be used as a material reliability index for safe fatigue design of the
Polypropylene composites.
© 2019 Kingfa SCI. & TECH. CO., LTD. Production and Hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi
Communications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction
Application and demand of wood-plastic composite (WPC) in
different sectors such as automotive industries, office appliances,
housewares, furniture, outdoor deck floors, etc. [1e5] are
increasing each year due its cheapness and eco-friendly character.
The major components of WPC are wood flour and mainly ther-
moplastic polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl
chloride etc. Wood flour as an inexpensive filler can reduce the cost
of WPC largely [1]. Presence of wood flour into polymer matrices
can also impart its physical and mechanical properties such as high
strength and stiffness to the final composite materials. Poly-
propylene (PP)/wood flour (WF) composite, a typical WPC, is
basically made of polypropylene matrix and wood flour. In the
fabrication of PP/WF composite, another important ingredient,
namely, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP), is usually
used as a compatibilizer [6e11]. PP/WF compositess have drawn
* Corresponding author. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yamaguchi
University, 2-16-1 Tokiwadai, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8611, Japan.
E-mail address: minhaz1978@gmail.com (M.M.-U. Haque).
the attention of WPC companies because of the free flowing nature
of WF compared with the natural fibres [12] as well as scope of
fabrication from recycled wood and recycled polypropylene
[13e17].
In this study, PP/WF composites were fabricated by incorpo-
rating wood flour with and without maleic anhydride and peroxide
(MAPO) into cellulose nanofibres (CNF) impregnated poly-
propylene. Cellulose nanofibres was impregnated into PP matrix to
increase the interfacial interaction among composite components.
The advantages of addition of CNF into PP polymer had already
been reported by Suzuki et al. [18,19]. In our previous study, a
higher fatigue life of wet pulverized WF reinforced PP composite
was reported [20,21]. Indeed, fibrils were generated on wood flour
particles surfaces by the wet pulverization. An improved fatigue life
of PP/WF composite was also claimed due to a higher crack
deflection behavior of fibrillated WF. The improved fracture
toughness and fatigue life of various nanoparticles incorporated
polymer systems had already been reported by several researchers.
As for examples, improved fatigue life and fracture toughness of
epoxy composites were found by incorporating carbon nanotube
[22], multi-walled carbon nanotube [23,24], graphene nano-
particles [25,26] etc.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiepr.2019.07.001
2542-5048/© 2019 Kingfa SCI. & TECH. CO., LTD. Production and Hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the
CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 M.M.-U. Haque et al. / Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research 2 (2019) 136e142
Although the demand and application of PP/WF are increasing
each year, use of PP/WF in structural applications faces a great
challenge because of their fatigue reliability under different load
conditions. Structural materials are susceptible to fatigue failure
below the tensile strength of that material. Hence, for safe fatigue
design, the study of fatigue behavior of the composites is very
important, particularly if PP/WF composites are subjected to use in
long-term load bearing applications. Since materials deformation
mechanism under short-term and long-term mechanical loading is
not always the same, and only the tensile test is not sufficient to do
a prediction of their long term load bearing application [27].
Generally, fatigue strength depends on the tensile strength of
composite materials and composite materials with higher tensile
strength exhibited higher fatigue strength [28,29], but this was not
always happen, particularly at low cyclic stress. Liang et al. [30] and
Shivakumar et al. [31] reported that the higher tensile strength of
composites became less significant when cyclic stress was
decreased i.e. at low cyclic stress some composite materials were
less sensitive to the fatigue damage. Hence, the study of fatigue
analysis and fatigue reliability of PP/WF is utmost necessary for safe
fatigue design.
Prediction of fatigue life of composite materials is also a critical
issue as fatigue experimental data of composites are widely scat-
tered. Crack propagation rate for a uniform material was predicted
by a linear elastic fracture mechanics of a single through-crack.
However, in composite material, fatigue occurs by fibre breakage,
matrix cracking, crazing, matrix-fibre debonding, delamination etc.
Moreover, in a composite, due to its heterogeneity, cracks were
spread to the entire area and some cracks could not propagate over
large distance as they were deflected/arrested by hard filler [32].
Thus, due to the heteroginity of composites the fatigue experi-
mental data of composites are widely scattered.
The main objective of this study was to find out a fatigue reli-
ability of PP/WF composites. In this study, effect of MAPO mixing on
the fatigue life of PP/WF composites was also investigated. Maleic
anhydride has two functional groups: anhydride group and double
bond. So, each molecule of maleic anhydride has possibility to be
bonded with PP radical as generated by peroxide through double
bond [33,34] as well as to be bonded with WF surfaces through
anhydride group [35,36]. Based on this reaction probability, it was
expected that the resultant composite system would exhibit an
improved fatigue performance due to a higher components com-
patibilization. Concerning the fatigue reliability of the composites,
since fatigue experimental data are widely scattered, it is necessary
to find out absolution that can be employed to calculate the safe
fatigue design of the composites. In this study, the experimental
data were fitted with a logarithmic linear line by a regression
technique. Based on the fatigue testing data, 95% confidence band
were also created. Since 95% confidence lower band ensure 95%
survivability and only 5% failure of the composites, hence, in this
study, fatigue lives of composites at different fatigue strength,
based on 95% confidence band, were calculated that can be used
as a material reliability index for safe fatigue design of PP/WF
composites.
2. Experimental
2.1. Materials
Polypropylene (PP) pellet, trade name PPJ107G, melt flow index
30 g/10 min at 230
C/2.16 kg, density 0.9 g/cm3, melting point
150
C was received from Prime Polymer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) powder, trade
name Kayabrid 006PP, maleic anhydride content 2 wt%, was
received from Kayaku Akzo Co., Japan.
137
Cellulose nanofibres (CNF) suspension (solid content 10 wt%),
BiNFi-s WFo-10010, fibres diameter 10e50 nm, specific surface area
120 m2/g were supplied from Sugino, Japan.
Wood flour (WF), trade name ARBOCEL®C100, bulk density
140e180 g/l, mesh number 100, particle size 70e152 mm was pur-
chased from Rettenmaier & Sohne GmbH Co., Ltd., Rosenberg,
Germany.
Maleic anhydride, purity 99.5%, solidifying point 52
C, was
purchased from Nippon Shokubai Co. Ltd., Japan.
Organic peroxide, t-Butyl peroxy 3,5,5-trimethylhexanoate,
purity 97 wt%, half life at 120, 140, 160, and 180
C, are about 1 h,
10 min, 1 min, and 15 s, respectively were purchased from, Kayaku
Akzo Co., Japan.
2.2. Processing of the composites
The PP/WF composites were prepared in three step processes. In
the 1st step, cellulose nanofibres were dispersed into poly-
propylene matrix by mixing of CNF suspension (solid content 10 wt
%) with MAPP and neat PP at 190
C in a mixer. The mixing ratio of
PP, MAPP, and CNF was 90:5:5.
In the 2nd step, mixture of PP/CNF (20 wt%) and wood flour
(WF) (80 wt%) with and without maleic anhydride (2 phr) and
peroxide (0.5 phr) was obtained by mixing them in a mixer at
120e180
C for 5e20 mins.
In the 3rd step, the ground mixture were processed in a twin-
screw extruder (AS30, Nakatani, machinery, Co., Ltd.) by the addi-
tion of required amount of neat PP so that the components
composition wt% in each final composite become PP45/MAPP2.5/
CNF2.5/WF50. During processing of the composites, the tempera-
ture at different zones in the extruder were maintained as fol-
lowings: (1) 165
C, (2) 200
C, (3) 215
C, (4) 200
C, (5) 190
C, and
(6) 190
C. The screw speed of extruder was 85 rpm and total
throughput was 9e12 kg/h. The processed composites based on
different conditions were coded as reported in the Table 1.
2.3. Characterization techniques
Tensile test of dumbbell shaped specimens, obtained by injec-
tion molding, of PP/WFcomposites was carried out by a Material
Testing Machine, EHF-F1, Shimadzu, Japan. A strain gauge (Kyowa
strain gauge, KFGS-2N-120-C1-11, Japan) of 2 mm with a gauge
factor of 2.14 ± 1.0% was inserted on the surface (at the middle
point) of each specimen. The specimens were put in a humidity
control chamber at 25
C with 40% relative humidity (RH) for 5
days. The conditioned specimens were then tested using a load cell
of 1 kN, gauge length of 18 mm and cross-head speed of 10 mm/min
at 25
C and 40% RH. The average maximum strength of composites
was calculated by performing the test on five specimens of each
material.
Fatigue tests of the composite specimens were carried out by
the same instrument which was used for the tensile test. The
fatigue test of the composites was also conducted at conditions
of 25
C and 40% RH. The average maximum tensile strength
value, obtained by tensile test, was used as a reference
maximum stress level in estimation of the applied stress. The
following test conditions such as tension-tension loading mode,
stress ratio 0.1, frequency 3.5 Hz and applied stress: 90, 80, 70
and 60% level of ultimate tensile strength were applied in fa-
tigue test. At each load, at least two specimens of the compos-
ites were tested.
Measurements of rheological properties were performed using a
capillary rheometer, LCR 7000, Dynixco, Japan. The diameter and
length of the capillary were 2 mm and 8 mm, respectively. Tests
were carried out at 180
C and at shear rates 100, 149, 223, 334 and
138 M.M.-U. Haque et al. / Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research 2 (2019) 136e142

Table 1
List of composite samples with their code.

Sample code Mixing conditions

Temperature (
C) Time (min) Maleic anhydride (phr) Peroxide (phr)

A 140 10
B 140 10 2 0.5
C 120 10 2 0.5
D 140 20 2 0.5
E 160 10 2 0.5
F 180 10 2 0.5
G 180 5 2 0.5
H 180 20 2 0.5

500 s1. From this test melt-viscosity of PP/WF composites were attempted to find a solution for fatigue reliability of PP/WF com-
measured. posites. To study the fatigue performance of the composites,
maximum stress versus number of cycles to fracture (SeN) curves
3. Results and discussion of the composites were plotted using the fatigue experimental data.
The data were then fitted in a logarithmic linear regression equa-
3.1. Tensile properties of the composites tion as shown below:

To determine the cyclic stress level of fatigue test, each com-
posite sample was firstly subjected to the tensile test. Fig. 1 repre-
sents a stress-strain curves with an over imposed column diagram
of tensile strength of neat PP and composites. The average tensile
strength values and average toughness values calculated from the
stress-strain curves of different PP/WF composites are also reported
in Table 2. In Fig. 1, it is noticed that the MAPO containing com-
posites BeH exhibited lower tensile strength compared with
composite A. The lower tensile strength of MAPO containing
composites BeH was probably due to the molecular degradation of
PP polymer by MAPO [37].
Although a little influence of MAPO mixing temperature and
time on the tensile strength of MAPO containing composites was
noticed, MAPO mixing temperature and time changes did not show
a higher value of tensile strength of the composites compared with
the composite without MAPO.
3.2. Fatigue behavior and fatigue reliability of the composites
Generally, composite materials display higher fatigue perfor-
mance than that of its matrix material. Rigid filler particles have
ability to reduce the degree of matrix deformation in front of the
crack tip that propagates in soft matrices [32,38]. Our previous
study [39] on fatigue analysis of PP/WF composites also showed a
good agreement with the literature results. In this study, we
smax ¼ b,logðNÞ þ c (1)
where, smax is the applied maximum stress and N is a number of
cycles to fracture. The values of b and c are constant and depend on
the type of materials. For each and every composite material the
values of correlation coefficient and R2 were found to be
about 0.83 and >0.98, respectively. The value of correlation
coefficient, 0.83 indicated a strong downhill (negative) linear
relationship. The above regression equation (1) is similar to the
fatigue model equation developed by Mandell [40,41]:
smax ¼ b,logðNÞ þ suts (2)
where, suts is ultimate tensile strength. Fatigue strengths of
different PP/WF composites at two different number of cycles were
also calculated based on the equation (1) and the values are re-
ported in Table 2. Fig. 2a shows SeN curves of neat PP and PP/WF
composites with and without MAPO. As shown in Fig. 2, composites
exhibited higher fatigue life compared with the neat PP. In Fig. 2a, it
can also be noticed that composites without MAPO i.e. composite A
exhibited higher fatigue life compared with MAPO containing
composites B. In fibre reinforced composite, debonding of fibre/
matrix, fibre breakage, delamination and matrix cracking are the
major damage mechanisms [38]. Maleic anhydride has two func-
tional groups: anhydride group and double bond. A molecule of
maleic anhydride has a possibility to be bonded with PP radical
generated by peroxide through double bond as well as to be bonded
withWF surfaces through the anhydride group. Consequently, the
resultant composite system would exhibit an improved fatigue

Table 2
Tensile strength and fatigue strength of CNF impregnated PP/WF composites.

Wood Toughness Tensile Fatigue strength (MPa)

flour (MJ/M3)b strength (MPa) at different number of cycle (N)a

103 (N) 106 (N)

PP 8.7 33.0 ± 0.4 25.5 17.9

A 4.6 46.9 ± 1.0 40.9 29.2
B 4.4 45.5 ± 0.4 40.3 27.1
C 3.9 45.3 ± 0.9 41.0 26.9
D 3.8 44.2 ± 0.2 39.0 24.9
E 3.9 44.5 ± 0.5 39.1 26.0
F 4.4 46.1 ± 0.5 40.6 27.1
G 4.4 45.1 ± 0.7 38.1 25.6
a
Calculated fatigue strengths based on equation (1).
b
Fig. 1. Tensile strength of neat PP and PP/WF composites. Toughness from the area of stress-strain curves.
 M.M.-U. Haque et al. / Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research 2 (2019) 136e142
Fig. 2. SeN curves of neat PP and composites: (a) effect of MAPO, (b) effect of MAPO mixing temperature (c) effect of MAPO mixing time at 140
C, (d) effect of MAPO mixing
time at 180
C.
performance due to the components compatibilization. However,
the fatigue performance of the MAPO composites were lower
compared with the composites without MAPO. Since the main
components (PP, CNF and WF) and processing conditions were the
same both in MAPO mixed as well as in non-mixed composites and
maleic anhydride might also be grafted onto PP [34] that should
have a positive effect on the fatigue life of composites, but, the
fatigue performance of composites was not improved. Thus, this
behaviour indicated that MAPO had played a serious role on the
deterioration of fatigue performance of the composites. It had been
reported that fatigue life increased with increasing molecular
weight of polymer [42]. Since melt-processing of PP with MAPO
causes chain scission of polypropylene [43,44], hence this lower
fatigue life of MAPO containing composites compared with the
composite A can be attributed to degradation of PP chain that
increased the rate of matrix cracking.
MAPO mixing temperature and mixing time on the fatigue life of
composites were also investigated. Fig. 2b displays the SeN curves
of composites B, C, E and F with MAPO mixing temperature 140,
120, 160 and 180
C, respectively. Composite E with MAPO mixing
temperature 160
C exhibited the lowest fatigue performance as
did tensile strength. Fig. 2c and d represent the effect of MAPO
mixing time on the fatigue life of MAPO mixed composites at two
different temperature 140
C and 180
C, respectively. In Fig. 2c, it
can be noticed that composite B with MAPO mixing time 10 min
displayed higher fatigue life compared with the composite D with
MAPO mixing time 20 min. Whereas, at 180
C temperature com-
posite F with MAPO mixing time 10 min displayed higher fatigue
life compared with the composite G with MAPO mixing time 5 min.
Although MAPO mixing temperature and mixing time had influ-
enced on the fatigue performances of the MAPO mixed composites
that indicated some interaction among maleic anhydride, PP and
WF. However, variation of MAPO mixing temperature or time did
139
not show a higher fatigue life of the MAPO mixed composites
compared with the non-mixed composite A. Fig. 3 represents the
95% confidence band of fatigue experimental data of neat PP,
composite A, and composite B as examples. Since fatigue experi-
mental data were widely scattered, therefore, based on the fatigue
testing data, 95% confidence band of neat PP and composites were
created using a SigmaPlot software. 95% confidence upper band
indicated 5% survivability and 95% failure of the sample specimens,
whereas 95% confidence lower band indicated 95% survivability
and 5% failure of the sample specimens. From the 95% confidence
band the fatigue strengths at different frequency were also calcu-
lated and the values are reported in Table 3.
Plot of 95% confidence lower band of neat PP and PP/WF com-
posites were created as shown in Fig. 4. Since 95% confidence lower
band ensure 95% survivability and only 5% failure of samples [45].
Hence, from this study it can be suggested that the calculated data
reported in Table 3 or the calculated fatigue life from 95% confi-
dence lower band in Fig. 4 can be used as material reliability index
with 95% of certainty for safe fatigue design.
3.3. Melt-viscosity of the composites
To investigate the effect of MAPO on the fatigue performances of
PP/WF composites the melt-viscosity of the composites were
measured. Fig. 5 represents the melt-viscosity of PP/WF composites
as a function of shear rates of 100e500 1/s. The melt-viscosity
experimental data of the composites were fitted to the classical
power law expression [46].
h ¼ ARh uðnRh Þ (3)
where h represents the melt-viscosity of the composites and u
represents the shear rate. In equation (3) ARh is a pre-exponential
140 M.M.-U. Haque et al. / Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research 2 (2019) 136e142

Fig. 3. SeN curves with 95% confidence band of fatigue experimental data of neat PP, composite A, and composite B.

Table 3
Fatigue strength of the composites calculated from 95% confidence band (lower line - upper line values).

Sample Fatigue strength (MPa) at different frequency (N)

103 104 105 106 107 108 109

PP 25.4e27.3 22.9e24.7 20.5e22.2 18.0e19.7 15.5e17.1 13.0e14.6 10.5e12.0

A 39.7e42.0 35.9e38.1 32.0e34.3 28.1e30.4 24.2e26.5 20.3e22.6 16.4e18.7
B 39.5e41.0 35.2e36.6 30.8e32.2 26.4e27.8 22.0e23.4 17.6e18.9 13.3e14.5
C 39.9e42.1 35.2e37.4 30.5e32.7 25.8e27.9 21.0e23.2 16.3e18.5 11.6e13.8
D 38.1e40.0 33.4e35.2 28.9e30.4 24.2e25.6 19.6e20.8 15.0e16.1 10.4e11.3
E 37.6e40.6 33.4e36.0 29.1e31.5 24.9e27.0 20.7e22.5 16.4e18.0 12.2e13.5
F 39.2e42.0 34.8e37.4 30.5e32.7 26.1e28.1 21.7e23.4 17.4e18.8 13.0e14.1
G 37.4e38.7 33.3e34.5 29.1e30.4 25.0e26.2 20.8e22.0 16.7e17.9 12.5e13.7

factor or consistency index and nRh is a shear thinning exponent or

flow behavior index whose values were found to be 0.5e0.6. For
each and every composite material, the values of correlation coef-
ficient and R2 were found to be about 0.93 and >0.99, respectively
(see Table 4). The value of correlation coefficient, 0.93 indicated a
very strong downhill (negative) linear relationship between shear
rate and melt-viscosity. In Fig. 5, it is obvious that the melt-viscosity
of composites decreased with increasing shear rates indicating a
pseudoplastic or shear-thinning characteristic of the composite
materials. The pseudo-plastics or shear-thinning behavior of PP/WF
composites had also been reported by Li et al. [47]. In Fig. 5a, it can
also be noticed that the melt-viscosity of MAPO mixed composite B
was lower compared the composite without MAPO, A.
Although, a higher melt-viscosity of composite B was expected
considering a higher interfacial interaction between PP matrix
phase and WF particles in presence of MAPO. The lower values of
melt-viscosity of MAPO containing composite B compared with the
composite A indicated the molecular degradation of PP polymer in
MAPO mixed composites. Melt-viscosity of PP polymer is depended
on the molecular weight of PP polymer [48] as well as in the
presence of peroxide molecular degradation of PP by chain scission
has already been investigated by Azizi et al. [44]. Fig. 4. 95% confidence lower band of neat PP and PP/WF composites.
 M.M.-U. Haque et al. / Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research 2 (2019) 136e142 141

composites compared with the composites without MAPO. This

behaviour suggested that the effect of molecular degradation of PP
(as indicated by rheological measurement) on the fatigue perfor-
mance of the composites was more prominent compared with the
compatibilizing effect of MAPO.
Since fatigue experimental data were widely scattered, hence in
this study a fatigue reliability was sought. Based on the fatigue
experimental data 95% confidence band of neat PP and PP/WF
composites were created. Since 95% confidence lower band ensure
95% survivability and only 5% failure of the composites, hence, from
this study, it is suggested that the calculated fatigue life from 95%
confidence lower band can be used as a material reliability index
for safe fatigue design of PP/WF composites.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Fig. 5. Melt-viscosity of the composites against shear rates: (a) effect of MAPO, (b)
effect of MAPO mixing temperature, (c) effect of MAPO mixing time.
References

[1] A. Jacob, WPC industry focuses on performance and cost, Reinforc. Plast. 50
(2006) 32e33.
Table 4 [2] A.K. Bledzki, O. Faruk, V.E. Sperber, Cars from bio-fibres, Macromol. Mater.
Obtained values of power law parameters and correlation coefficient for PP/WF Eng. 291 (2006) 449e457.
composites. [3] J. Kim, K. Pal, Overview of wood-plastic composites and uses, in: J. Kim, K. Pal
(Eds.), Recent Advances in the Processing of Wood-Plastic Composites,
Sample ARh nRh (R2)a Correlation coefficient
Springer, Berlin, Germany, 2010, pp. 1e22.
A 20045 0.552 0.9999 0.94 [4] A. Ashori, Woodeplastic composites as promising green-composites for
B 16002 0.549 0.9991 0.93 automotive industries, Biores. Technol. 99 (2008) 4661e4667.
C 10949 0.505 0.9974 0.95 [5] P.M. Smith, M.P. Wolcott, Opportunities for wood/natural fiber-plastic com-
posites in residential and industrial applications, For. Prod. J. 56 (2006) 4e11.
D 9236 0.501 0.9995 0.94
[6] L. Danyadi, T. Janecska, Z. Szabo, G. Nagy, J. Moczo, B. Pukanszky, Wood flour
E 9374 0.499 0.9975 0.93
filled PP composites: compatibilization and adhesion, Compos. Sci. Technol. 67
F 11701 0.531 0.9999 0.94
(2007) 2838e2846.
G 10783 0.516 0.9991 0.94 [7] L. Zhu, J. Cao, Y. Wang, R. Liu, G. Zhao, Effect of MAPP on interfacial compat-
H 11589 0.529 0.9995 0.95 ibility of wood flour/polypropylene composite evaluated with dielectric
a
R2: correlation factor squared. approach, Polym. Compos. 35 (2014) 489e494.
[8] H.S. Kim, B.H. Lee, S.W. Choi, S. Kim, H.J. Kim, The effect of types of maleic
anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAPP) on the interfacial adhesion prop-
erties of bio-flour-filled polypropylene composites, Compos. Part A 38 (2007)
Effect of MAPO mixing temperature on the melt-viscosity was 1473e1482.
also evaluated as shown in Fig. 5b. It was found that the composite [9] V.N. Hristov, S.T. Vasileva, M. Krumova, R. Lach, G.H. Michler, Deformation
mechanisms and mechanical properties of modified polypropylene/wood fi-
B with MAPO mixing temperature 140
C displayed the highest ber composites, Polym. Compos. 25 (2004) 521e526.
melt-viscosity among the MAPO containing composites B, C, E, and [10] G. E Myers, I.S. Chahyadi, C.A. Coberly, D.S. Ermer, Wood flour/polypropylene
F with MAPO mixing temperatures 140, 120, 160, and 180
C, composites: influence of maleated polypropylene and process and composi-
tion variables on mechanical properties, Int. J. Polym. Mater. 15 (1991) 21e44.
respectively. At 140 and 180
C, the effect of MAPO mixing time on [11] H.S. Yang, P. Qiao, M.P. Wolcott, Fatigue characterization and reliability
the melt-viscosity of the composites was also evaluated as reported analysis of wood flour filled polypropylene composites, Polym. Compos. 31
in Fig. 5c and d respectively. It was found that the melt-viscosity of (2010) 553e560.
[12] C. Clemons, Woodeplastic composites in the United States: the interfacing of
the composites was significantly decreased with increasing MAPO
two industries, For. Prod. J. 52 (2002) 10e20.
mixing time at 140
C, but no significant change was observed at [13] M.A. AlMaadeed, R. Kahraman, P.N. Khanam, N. Madi, Date palm wood flour/
180
C. This behaviour also support the molecular degradation of PP glass fibre reinforced hybrid composites of recycled polypropylene: me-
in presence of MAPO as half-life of peroxide at 180
C is 15 s only. chanical and thermal properties, Mater. Des. 42 (2012) 289e294.
[14] S.K. Najafi, E. Hamidinia, M. Tajvidi, Mechanical properties of composites from
sawdust and recycled plastics, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 100 (2006) 3641e3645.
4. Conclusion [15] H. Roy, F. Pahlevani, S. Cholake, C. Echeverria, A. Banerjee, V. Sahajwalla,
Simulation of marine bio-composite using empirical data combined with
finite element technique, J. Compos. Sci. 2 (2018) 48. https://doi.org/10.3390/
Fatigue analysis and fatigue reliability of PP/WF composites with jcs2030048.
and without MAPO have been reported. In this study, we also [16] S.K. Najafi, A. Kiaefar, E. Hamidina, M. Tajvidi, Water absorption behavior of
composites from sawdust and recycled plastics, J. Reinf. Plast. Compos. 26
investigated the effects of MAPO mixing temperature and time on (2007) 341e348.
the properties of composites. The fatigue testing results revealed [17] K.B. Adhikary, S. Pang, M.P. Staiger, Long-term moisture absorption and
that the composites containing MAPO exhibited lower fatigue thickness swelling behaviour of recycled thermoplastics reinforced with Pinus
radiata sawdust, Chem. Eng. J. 142 (2008) 190e198.
performance compared with the composite without MAPO. [18] K. Suzuki, H. Okumura, K. Kitagawa, S. Sato, A.N. Nakagaito, H. Yano, Devel-
Although it was expected that presence of MAPO in the composite opment of continuous process enabling nanofibrillation of pulp and melt
would improve the physical and mechanical properties by compounding, Cellulose 20 (2013) 201e210.
[19] K. Suzuki, A. Sato, H. Okumura, T. Hashimoto, A.N. Nakagaito, H. Yano, Novel
enhancing the interfacial interaction among PP and WF. However,
high-strength, micro fibrillated cellulose-reinforced polypropylene compos-
incorporation of MAPO into PP/WF composites did not improve the ites using a cationic polymer as compatibilizer, Cellulose 21 (2014) 507e518.
fatigue performance of the composites. In spite of some effect of [20] M.M. Haque, K. Goda, H. Ito, S. Ogoe, M. Okamoto, T. Ema, K. Kagawa,
MAPO mixing temperature and time on the fatigue performance of H. Nogami, Melt-viscosity and mechanical behaviour of polypropylene (PP)/
wood flour composites: effect of pulverization of wood flour with and without
the composites, neither mixing temperature nor time variation water, Adv. Indus. Eng. Polym. Res. 2 (2019) 42e50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
could show a higher fatigue performance of the MAPO containing aiepr.2018.11.001.
142 M.M.-U. Haque et al. / Advanced Industrial and Engineering Polymer Research 2 (2019) 136e142
[21] M.M. Haque, K. Goda, H. Ito, S. Ogoe, M. Okamoto, T. Ema, K. Kagawa, H. Nogami,
Fatigue performance of wet and dry pulverized wood flour reinforced PP
composite, J. Compos. Sci. 3 (1) (2019) 20, https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs3010020.
[22] C.S. Grimmer, C.K.H. Dharan, High-cycle fatigue of hybrid carbon nanotube/
glass fiber/polymer composites, J. Mater. Sci. 43 (2018) 4487e4492.
[23] J.B. Knoll, B.T. Riecken, N. Kosmann, S. Chandrasekaran, K. Schulte, B. Fiedler,
The effect of carbon nanoparticles on the fatigue performance of carbon fibre
reinforced epoxy, Compos. Part A 67 (2014) 233e240.
[24] T. Takeda, W. Fan, Q.P. Feng, S.Y. Fu, F. Narita, Y. Shindo, Cryogenic mechanical
properties of woven glass/epoxy composites modified with multi-walled
carbon nanotube and n-butyl glycidyl ether under tensile static and cyclic
loadings, Cryogenics 58 (2013) 33e37.
[25] D.R. Bortz, E.G. Heras, I. Martin-Gullon, Impressive fatigue life and fracture
toughness improvements in graphene oxide/epoxy composites, Macromole-
cules 45 (2012) 238e245.
[26] M.A. Rafiee, J. Rafiee, I. Srivastava, Z. Wang, H. Song, Z.Z. Yu, N. Koratkar,
Fracture and fatigue in graphene nanocomposites, Small 6 (2010) 179e183.
[27] M.J.W. Kanters, Prediction of Long-Term Performance of Load-Bearing Ther-
moplastics (Doctorate dissertation), Eindhoven University of Technology,
Netherlands, 3 September 2015.
[28] S. Mortazavian, A. Fatemi, Fatigue of short fiber thermoplastic composites: a review
of recent experimental results and analysis, Int. J. Fatigue 102 (2017) 171e183.
[29] S. Mortazavian, A. Fatemi, Fatigue behavior and modeling of short fiber
reinforced polymer composites including anisotropy and temperature effects,
Int. J. Fatigue 77 (2015) 12e27.
[30] S. Liang, P.B. Gning, L.A. Guillaumat, Comparative study of fatigue behaviour of
flax/epoxy and glass/epoxy composites, Compos. Sci. Technol. 72 (2012) 535e543.
[31] D. Sivakumar, L.F. Ng, S.M. Lau, K.T. Lim, Fatigue life behaviour of glass/Kenaf
woven-ply polymer hybrid biocomposites, J. Polym. Environ. 26 (2018)
499e507.
[32] K. Reifsnider, Fatigue behavior of composite materials, Int. J. Fract. 16 (1980)
563e583.
[33] Y. Minoura, M. Ueda, S. Mizunuma, M. Oba, The reaction of polypropylene
with maleic anhydride, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 13 (1969) 1625e1640.
[34] Y. Guldogan, S. Egri, Z.M. Rzaev, E. Pişkin, Comparison of maleic anhydride
grafting onto powder and granular polypropylene in the melt by reactive
extrusion, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 92 (2004) 3675e3684.
[35] C.L. McCormick, T.R. Dawsey, Preparation of cellulose derivatives via ring-
opening reactions with cyclic reagents in lithium chloride/N, N-dimethyla-
cetamide, Macromolecules 23 (1990) 3606e3610.
[36] J.C. de Melo, E.C. da Silva Filho, S.A. Santana, C. Airoldi, Maleic anhydride
incorporated onto cellulose and thermodynamics of cation-exchange process
at the solid/liquid interface, Colloids Surf. A 346 (2009) 138e145.
[37] T. Ogawa, Effects of molecular weight on mechanical properties of poly-
propylene, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 44 (1992) 1869e1871.
[38] A. Gaurav, K.K. Singh, Fatigue behavior of FRP composites and CNT-Embedded
FRP composites: a review, Polym. Compos. 39 (2018) 1785e1808.
[39] M.N.A. Nordin, Y. Makino, K. Goda, H. Ito, Fatigue properties of wood plastic
composites, Seni Gakkai Shi 71 (2015) 339e344 (in Japanese).
[40] A.H. Abdullah, S.K. Alias, N. Jenal, K. Abdan, A. Ali, Fatigue behavior of kenaf
fibre reinforced epoxy composites, Eng. J. 16 (2012) 105e114.
[41] J.F. Mandell, in: G. Pritchard (Ed.), “Fatigue Behavior of Fiber-Resin Compos-
ites” in Developments in Reinforced Plastics 2, Applied Science Publishers,
London, United Kingdom, 1984, pp. 67e108.
[42] J.A. Sauer, M. Hara, Effect of molecular variables on crazing and fatigue of
polymers, in: Crazing in Polymers, vol. 2, 1990, pp. 69e118.
[43] N.G. Gaylord, M.K. Mishra, Nondegradative reaction of maleic anhydride and
molten polypropylene in the presence of peroxides, J. Polym. Sci. 21 (1983)
23e30.
[44] H. Azizi, I. Ghasemi, Reactive extrusion of polypropylene: production of
controlled-rheology polypropylene (CRPP) by peroxide-promoted degrada-
tion, Polym. Test. 23 (2004) 137e143.
[45] Y. Xiang, Y. Liu, Application of inverse first-order reliability method for
probabilistic fatigue life prediction, Probabilist. Eng. Mech. 26 (2011)
148e156.
[46] T.W. Spriggs, J.D. Huppler, R.B. Bird, An experimental appraisal of viscoelastic
models, Trans. Soc. Rheol. 10 (1966) 191e213.
[47] H. Li, S. Law, M. Sain, Process rheology and mechanical property correla-
tionship of wood flour-polypropylene composites, J. Reinf. Plast. Compos. 23
(2004) 1153e1158.
[48] C. Tzoganakis, J. Vlachopoulos, A.E. Hamielec, D.M. Shinozaki, Effect of mo-
lecular weight distribution on the rheological and mechanical properties of
polypropylene, Polym. Eng. Sci. 29 (1989) 390e396.