Abstract
Wood-Plastic Composites (WPCs) are the environmentally friendly materials or the green building materials. However, due to the hydrophilic nature of fiber or wood flour, the overall performance of the WPCs is reduced when exposed to water or humidity in the environment. Factors affecting water absorption behavior of the composites included with wood flour contents, wood species, wood flour sizes, compatibilizer, temperatures, and plastic types. It is well known that the increasing the addition of wood flour in the composites resulted in an increase of the water absorption. The composites produced from larger wood particles had clearly higher moisture absorption and infiltration coefficient than the composites produced from smaller particles. Likewise, when temperature increased, the water uptake of the composite materials also enhanced. Furthermore, the results of the water absorption also affected the mechanical and physical performances, which decreased strength and stiffness of the composites, but increased the swelling. Therefore, this academic review article would greatly facilitate the researchers and developers as well as WPCs manufacturers. They can use and apply these information and knowledge to develop and improve the WPCs for resisting the environmental weathering and water immersion.
Keywords : Wood-plastic composites, Water absorption, Swelling, Degradation in mechanical property
