Strain rate and temperature effects on elastic properties of polycaprolactone/starch composite

Abstract

Composite of polycaprolactone (PCL) and starch is a potential biomaterial for tissue engineering scaffolds. During implantation, its mechanical properties might be compromised considering the various strain rates it is subjected to and that human body temperature is close to polycaprolactone's melting temperature. This study aims at revealing the effect of strain rate and temperature to the elastic properties of polycaprolactone-starch composite. Tensile test at strain rates of 5, 0.1, and 0.01 mm/min at ambient and body temperatures were performed. It was revealed that strain rate as well as temperature readily have significant effects on the composite's elastic properties. Such effects have similar trends with that of PCL homopolymer which is used as the composite's matrix. Further analysis on the consequence of the finding was performed by applying the behavior to a finite element model of a porous scaffold and it was found that the discrepancy in elastic properties throughout the construct is even greater.