Återbruk av polymermaterial för optimerad draghållfasthet

Abstract

This study focuses on the waste material H100 from Diab International AB, aiming to identify the material’s properties and optimize process parameters for maximum strength. Diab’s production facility in Laholm manufactures Divinycell PVC, a strong core material used in sandwich structures. The material consists of a combination of thermoplastic and thermoset plastic to achieve desired properties. Production generates waste material in various forms, with offcuts and trimmings accounting for a significant share. Currently, the waste is compressed into briquettes for energy recovery, as the material cannot be remelted in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. Consequently, the company wishes to explore opportunities for reusing the material in new applications. Currently, there are few studies and limited data regarding how wood shavings can be processed and how they are affected by compression. This work therefore focuses on how shavings from the H100 product can be processed, how the material responds to various process parameters, and what relationships can be identified regarding the material’s mechanical properties. The development of the experimental plan was carried out using design of experiments to investigate how the different process parameters affected the tensile strength. The test runs were carried out in a smaller thermal press that mimics a press in production. The main parameters were temperature (◦C), time (minutes), compressive force (kN) and weight (grams). The plates were manufactured and processed and then tested with tensile testing to determine the tensile strength. Preheating tests were carried out to examine the possibility of shortening the process time of the plates in the press. The results showed that temperature and time had a significant impact on tensile strength. A strong correlation was also identified between the color of the plate and its tensile strength, indicating potential for using color as a means of monitoring board strength. The study provides greater insight into how process parameters affect wood chip waste and establishes a foundation for future work on the reuse of H100 chip waste.