This work was designed to determine the mechanical properties and static cushioning performance of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/bagasse fibre foam composites with a multiple-factor experiment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and static cushioning tests were performed on the foamed composites and the results were compared with those of commonly used expanded polystyrene (EPS). The results were as follows: the materials had a mainly open cell structure, and bagasse fibre had good compatibility with PVA foam. With increasing PVA content, the mechanical properties of the system improved. The mechanical properties and static cushioning properties of the foam composite almost approached those of EPS. In addition, a small amount of sodium tetraborate obviously regulated the foaming ratio of foamed composites. With increasing sodium tetraborate content, the mechanical properties of foamed composites were enhanced. The yield strength and Young’s modulus of the material prepared by reducing the water content to 80.19 wt% were too high and not suitable for cushioned packaging of light and fragile products.

中文翻译：

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聚乙烯醇/甘蔗渣纤维发泡复合材料作为缓冲包装材料的性能

本工作旨在通过多因素实验确定聚乙烯醇 (PVA)/甘蔗渣纤维泡沫复合材料的机械性能和静态缓冲性能。对泡沫复合材料进行扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 分析和静态缓冲测试，并将结果与​​常用的发泡聚苯乙烯 (EPS) 的结果进行比较。结果如下：材料以开孔结构为主，甘蔗渣纤维与PVA泡沫具有良好的相容性。随着PVA含量的增加，体系的力学性能得到改善。泡沫复合材料的力学性能和静态缓冲性能几乎接近EPS。此外，少量的四硼酸钠明显调节了泡沫复合材料的发泡率。随着四硼酸钠含量的增加，泡沫复合材料的力学性能增强。将含水量降至80.19wt%制备的材料的屈服强度和杨氏模量过高，不适用于轻质易碎产品的缓冲包装。