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dc.contributor.advisorDavid Wallace.en_US
dc.contributor.authorReed, Sarah BRen_US
dc.contributor.otherMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2011-08-18T19:17:00Z
dc.date.available2011-08-18T19:17:00Z
dc.date.copyright2011en_US
dc.date.issued2011en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65311
dc.descriptionThesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.en_US
dc.descriptionCataloged from PDF version of thesis.en_US
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (p. 56-57).en_US
dc.description.abstractA study of the manufacturing and product capabilities of a cork/polylactic acid compound was conducted. Fine granulated cork, 1mm in diameter, was compounded with Natureworks' IngeoTM3051D PLA and extruded into pellets. The PLA was compounded with cork in two concentrations: 5% by weight and 10% by weight. The material was then pressed in the flat sheets in a hot press and subject to rheological and mechanical testing. A simulation of the injection molding process was conducted using Autodesk's MoldFlowTMsoftware. Material property data was gathered and approximated and then fit into a model which was used to run the simulation. Finally, a dinner plate was thermoformed from flat sheets of each of the concentrations. From the mechanical testing it was found that while the cork weakened the PLA slightly the elastic moduli for both formulations were close enough to that of other common plastics to be acceptable for product use. The injection molding simulation showed the material to be injection moldable, although further study of the injection molding parameters will be needed to ensure the molded part is high quality throughout.en_US
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityby Sarah BR Reed.en_US
dc.format.extent57 p.en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherMassachusetts Institute of Technologyen_US
dc.rightsM.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.en_US
dc.rights.urihttp://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582en_US
dc.subjectMechanical Engineering.en_US
dc.titleA study of the manufacturing and product possibilities of a cork/polylactic acid compounden_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.description.degreeS.M.en_US
dc.contributor.departmentMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
dc.identifier.oclc745794835en_US


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