Short cellulosic fiber/starch acetate composites — micromechanical modeling of Young’s modulus

This study is presented to predict the Young’s modulus of injection-molded short cellulosic fiber/plasticized starch acetate composites with variable fiber and plasticizer content. A modified rule of mixtures model is applied where the effect of porosity is included, and where the fiber weight fraction is used as the basic independent variable. The values of the input model parameters are derived from experimental studies of the configuration of the composites (volumetric composition, dimensions, and orientation of fibers), as well as the properties of the constituent fiber and matrix phases (density and Young’s modulus). The measured Young’s modulus of the composites varies in the range 1.1—8.3 GPa, and this is well predicted by the model calculations. A property diagram is presented to be used for the tailor-making of composites with Young’s modulus in the range 0.2—10 GPa.