2026-09-19T06:30:27Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/653112022-01-13T07:54:36Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
David Wallace.
Reed, Sarah BR
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
2011-08-18T19:17:00Z
2011-08-18T19:17:00Z
2011
2011
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65311
745794835
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-57).
A 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.
by Sarah BR Reed.
S.M.
57 p.
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.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
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http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Mechanical Engineering.
A study of the manufacturing and product possibilities of a cork/polylactic acid compound
Thesis
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<Abstract>A 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.</Abstract>
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