Processing and Mechanical Properties of Novel Wood Fibre Composites Foams

Wood fibre reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composite foams have been successfully produced using supercritical carbon dioxide. A significant increase of specific properties, both stiffness and strength, was achieved by adding 5-10 wt% wood fibres. The experimental stiffness was comparable with a superposed micromechanical model for a three phase fibre reinforced foam. These first results on the integration of wood fibres into cellular PLA polymer are very encouraging.