Laleh Kobari - Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M۵S ۳E۵
Mark - Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M۵S ۳E۵
Kortschot - Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M۵S ۳E۵

In this study, the post processing fiber length and orientation distributions in short natural fiber reinforced polymers have been characterized using a Skyscan 1172 X-ray microtomography, and models that relate the microstructural parameters to the composite modulus have been evaluated. The resulting 3D reconstructed image stacks were analyzed using Image-Pro Plus. Orientation distribution functions of fibers were calculated and also the predicted tensile and flexural modulii were computed using a mixture of Cox’s shear lag theory and laminated plate theory. These calculated mechanical properties were compared to the experimental data and the results were found to be consistent.

NFRC, Short fibers, Shear lag