Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 February 2010
The focus of this study has been to fully describe the mechanical properties andbehaviour of an extruded Wood Plastic Composite product. The use of plasturgy technologiesfor the elaboration of lignocellulose reinforced composites raises fundamental questionsabout the behaviour of these materials. Mechanical properties of a composite dependgenerally on fibre content, fibre/matrix interface link or added coupling agents.Processes play an important role on the reinforcement distribution in the matrix. The mainpurpose of this paper is to describe mechanical behaviour of WPC composites which aremanufactured using an extrusion process. So, complete set of experiments has beenrealised: tensile, compressive, bending and shear tests. Longitudinal direction refers toextrusion process directional flow and transverse direction specimens have been tested.Mechanical performances of Wood Plastic Composites depend also on the link of fibre/matrixinterface, fracture surface has been analysed using an optical microscope.