Eco-Friendly Cork-Polyurethane Biocomposites for Enhanced Impact Performance: Experimental and Numerical Analysis

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Sustainable Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Cork composites, derived from wine stopper byproducts, offer unique properties like low density and high strength.
• Current cork composites often utilize polyurethane matrices from petrochemical sources.
• There is a growing need for sustainable alternatives in material manufacturing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop eco-friendly porous polyurethane biocomposites using waste cooking oil polyol modified with cork.
• To investigate the impact absorption and crashworthiness of these novel biocomposites.
• To validate a finite element model for simulating the impact behavior of cork composites.

Main Methods:

• Manufacturing of polyurethane biocomposites with modified cork from waste cooking oil.
• Subjecting manufactured samples to 100 J impact loading tests for crashworthiness assessment.
• Developing and validating a finite element numerical model to simulate composite compression under impact.

Main Results:

• The highest specific absorbed energy was achieved in petrochemical polyol composites with 3% cork addition (natural or modified).
• The finite element model successfully simulated and validated the impact behavior of the new composites.
• Demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating waste vegetable oil components into polyurethane synthesis.

Conclusions:

• Eco-friendly cork biocomposites can be successfully manufactured using waste cooking oil polyol.
• These biocomposites exhibit potential for impact shock absorption applications.
• The study highlights a viable pathway for reducing reliance on petrochemicals in composite materials.