Thermal and mechanical properties of glass reinforced soy-based polyurethane composites

Two series of polyurethane resins were prepared using Soypolyol 204 derived from soybean oil and petrochemical polyol Jeffol G30-650. Polyurethanes from soybean oil have good thermal, oxidative and weather stability, and can be used as a matrix in composite materials. The objective of this study was to compare the mechanical properties of untreated E-glass fiber reinforced composites prepared with soybean oil-based polyurethanes to that of the petrochemical polyol based ones. The effect of the polyurethane resin on physical and mechanical properties was studied. The results showed that mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural strength, tensile and flexural modulus of the Soypolyol based composites were comparable with those from composites based on petrochemical polyol. Since soy-based polyurethanes offer better thermal, oxidative and hydrolytic stability than petrochemical based ones, they could be a viable alternative to the petrochemical urethane matrix resins for composites. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.