Mechanical properties and interactive strength of polyvinyl alcohol composite hydrogels

Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) nonwoven fabrics were used for improving the mechanical strength of PVA hydrogels. When the mass fraction of PVA was 10% and volumetric fraction of nonwoven fabrics was 15%, the tensile strength of the composite hydrogel reached 5.90 MPa. With the increase of the mass fraction of PVA gel and the volumetric fraction of the PVA nonwoven fabrics, the mechanical strength of the composite further increased. When the PVA mass fraction of the matrix was 15% and the volumetric content of nonwoven fabrics was 25%, the tensile strength attained 10.90 MPa. The interaction between the matrix and the PVA nonwoven fabrics was also studied through the coefficient 'A' obtained from the results of the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Compared with the hydrogels, the fractions of PVA crstyal in the composite hydrogels are lowed.