Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

1-1-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Engineering Science

First Advisor

Tejas Pandya

Second Advisor

Arunachalam Raj Rajendran

Third Advisor

Tyrus McCarty

School

University of Mississippi

Relational Format

dissertation/thesis

Abstract

Wood-based bio-composites are becoming increasingly popular due to their low cost, biodegradability, eco-friendliness, relatively robust mechanical properties, and environmental and sustainability benefits. In addition, over 300 million scrap tires are generated in the United States each year. A waste tire rubber aggregate used as supplementary material in wood composites can promote energy absorption and contribute to environmental sustainability. There has been a growing interest in discovering ways to incorporate rubber tire waste into wood-based materials. In this study, micronized rubber powder (MRP) was incorporated into a wood-based bio-composite made of southern yellow pine (SYP) fibers, to determine how it affects the dynamic and damping behavior of the bio-composite. Those structures that are capable of absorbing energy efficiently will disperse and dissipate intense pressure pulses and shield anything behind them (Wang & Shukla, 2010).The study investigates four different types of wood-based bio-composites made from varying fractions of SYP and MRP. The experimental analysis was performed using a Universal Testing Machine, a Low-velocity impact machine, a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB), a blast tube, and a hammer excitation method. The dynamic and damping properties of four different bio-composites were evaluated. The dynamic behavior was modeled using ABAQUS (Dynamic explicit). It can be used to improve our understanding of the impact hazard mitigation performance of wood-based bio-composites and implement them in the current structure design.

Concentration/Emphasis

Mechanical Engineering

Available for download on Saturday, February 07, 2026

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