Modeling structural and mechanical properties of nanocellulose aerogels

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School of Engineering | Master's thesis
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Date

2010

Major/Subject

Lujuusoppi

Mcode

Kul-49

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

38

Series

Abstract

The forest industry is at the dawn of a new era. Decreased demand for traditional products has lead forest products industry to seek opportunities to develop innovative products. Notably, nanoreinforced materials such as nanocellulose aerogels have caught the attention of the companies. Native cellulose is very stiff organic compound whereas aerogels are highly porous and light solid materials. The nanocellulose aerogels combine the high strength of cellulose nanofibers with the light weight of porous structure. Modelling can be important tool in product development. With aid of modelling, features that dominate behaviour of materials can be understood. The aim of this thesis is to develop a mechanical model for nanocellulose aerogels which can be utilized in product development. More specific, a two-dimensional finite element model for nanocellulose aerogels is developed. The model can be applied to simulate compressive behaviour of the aerogels. In this thesis, we analyze the behaviour of the proposed model. In addition, simulation results of the model are compared against experimental results. Furthermore, models strengths and weaknesses are analyzed.

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Supervisor

Tuhkuri, Jukka

Thesis advisor

Ketoja, Jukka

Keywords

modeling, aerogels, structural mechanics, finite element method, compression

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