Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Materials handling pallets were developed using wood filler-recycled polypropylene (WF-RPP) composite in our previous work. An important stage in the development of the full-size pallet is the assembly of the various components that make up the pallet. The objective of this work is to find a suitable fastening method, fastener type, and size to assemble the stringer-class pallet made from the composite. The following investigations were carried out: (i) comparative study on the ease of fastening screws with and without pre-drilling, (ii) determination of minimum depth to which pilot holes need to be drilled to enable screws of various sizes (#3 to #10) to penetrate into the composite, (iii) comparison on the ease of fastening the components using different screw types, (iv) determination of the minimum distance between screws and minimum distance of screw from the edge required to assemble the components without cracking, and (v) comparative study on the ease of fastening of composites having different filler loading. The results of the study showed that it is not possible to use wood screws or tapping screws to fasten the various parts of the pallet without pre-drilling. A pilot hole of diameter 2.5 mm and depth more than 6.0 mm was found to be suitable for screws with nominal sizes ranging from gauge #3 (2.515mm) to gauge #8 (4.166mm) to penetrate into the composite without difficulty.

Keywords

wood filler-recycled polypropylene fastening.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Haijun, L. , Shiang, L. and Mohini, S. (2004). Process Rheology and Mechanical Property Correlationship of Wood Flour-Polypropylene Composites, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, 23(7): 1153-1158.

Kuruvilla, J. , Sabu, T. and Pavithran, C. (1993). Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Short Sisal Fiber Reinforced Low Density Polyethylene Composites, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, 12(2): 139-155.

Hanafi, I. and Jaffri, R.M. (1999). Physico-Mechanical Properties of Oil Palm Wood Flour Filled Natural Rubber Composites, Polymer Testing, 18(5): 381-388.

Nachtigall, S.M.B. , Cerveira, G.S. and Rosa, S.M.L. (2007). New Polymeric-Coupling Agent for Polypropylene/Wood-Flour Composites, Polymer Testing , 26(5): 619-628.

Chtourou, H. , Riedl, B. and Ait-Kadi, A. (1992). Reinforcement of Recycled Polyolefins with Wood Fibers, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, 11(4): 372-394.

Coutinho, F.M.B. and Costa, T.H.S. (1999). Performance of Polypropylene-Wood Fiber Composites, Polymer Testing, 18(8): 581-587.

Khoo, T.S. , Ratnam, M.M. and Abdul Khalil, H.P.S. (2008). Wood Filler (WF)-Recycled Polypropylene (RPP) Composite Pallet: Study of Static Deformation using FEA and Shadow Moiré, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites , 27(16/17): 1733-1744.

Abdul Khalil, H.P.S. , Shahanaz, S.B. and Ratnam, M.M. (2006). Recycle Polypropylene (RPP). Wood Saw Dust (WSD) Composites - Part 1: The Effect of Different Filler Size and Filler Loading on Mechanical and Water Absorption Properties, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, 25(12): 1291-1303.

Abdul Khalil, H.P.S. , Sharifah Shahnaz , S.B. , Ratnam, M.M. , Issam, A.M. , Ahmad, F. and Nik Fuaad, N.A. (2006). Recycled Polypropylene (PP) - Wood Saw Dust (WSD) Composites: The Effect of Acetylation on Mechanical and Water Absorption Properties, Journal of the Korean Society of Wood Science and Technology, 34(2): 1-12.

10.

Vinson, J.R. (1989). Mechanical Fastening of Polymer Composites, Polymer Engineering and Science, 29(19): 1332-1339.

11.

Stokes, V.J. (1989). Joining Methods For Plastics and Plastic Composites: An Overview, Polymer Engineering and Science, 29(19): 1310-1324.

Wood Filler-recycled Polypropylene (WF-RPP) Composite Pallet: Study of Fastening Method

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References