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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #178685
Title: Compressive Properties of Epoxidized Soybean Oil/Clay Nanocomposites

Author
item SONG, BO - UNIV. OF ARIZONA
item CHEN, WEINONG - PURDUE UNIVERSITY
item Liu, Zengshe - Kevin
item Erhan, Sevim

Submitted to: Journal of Plasticity
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/3/2005
Publication Date: 1/26/2006
Citation: Song, B., Chen, W., Liu, Z., Erhan, S.Z. 2006. Compressive Properties of Epoxidized Soybean Oil/Clay Nanocomposites. International Journal of Plasticity. 22:1549-1568.

Interpretive Summary: The search for environmentally friendly materials that have the potential to substitute for petroleum based materials in various industrial applications is currently being considered a priority research objective in many areas. This emphasis is largely due to the rapid depletion of world fossil fuel reserves and increasing concern for environmental pollution. Vegetable oils have the capacity to contribute towards the goal of commercial utilization of biobased materials due to their naturally renewable resource and biodegradability. The purpose of this work is to investigate the impact properties of soy/clay nanocomposites, which could be used in agriculture equipment, the automotive industry, civil engineering, marine infrastructure, rail infrastructure, and the construction industry. Dynamic and quasi-static compression tests are conducted on these materials. The simple material model is proposed and described the experimental results well.

Technical Abstract: Dynamic and quasi-static compression experiments were conducted on epoxidized soybean oil (ESO)/clay nanocomposites with nanoclay weights of 0%, 5%, and 8%. A pulse-shaped split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) was employed to conduct dynamic experiments. The pulse shaping technique ensures nearly constant-strain-rate deformation under dynamically equilibrated stresses in specimens such that accurate stress-strain curves at various dynamic strain rates were obtained. A MTS 810 hydraulically driven materials testing system was used to obtain quasi-static stress-strain curves. Strain-rate and nanoclay weight effects on the compressive properties of the nanocomposites were experimentally determined. A phenomenological strain-rate-dependent material model was presented to describe the stress-strain response. The model agrees well with the experimental data at both large and small strains as well as dynamic and quasi-static strain rates.