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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Degradation mechanisms under hydro-thermo-mechanical loads of natural fibers-reinforced biocomposites : application to the development of lightweight and movable urban furnitures

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With the current environmental concerns, research turns to alternative solutions to synthetic fibres. Vegetal fibers appears as good candidates, with good mechanical properties. However, their low durability is a major issue, especially when the composites are exposed to hydro(hygro)thermal loadings.The purpore of this thesis is to analyse and understand the degradation mechanisms when hydro-thermo-mechanical loadings are applied, in order to implement a predictive modelisation of the composite durability.The manufacturing process wasstudied and optimised to produce reproducible and strong composites. Two materials were produced. Their only difference is their volumetric fiber contents (37.7 % and 51.1 %).Experimental campaigns were led to characterize the composite mechanical behavior under different loadings. A hydrothermal ageing was studied through monotonic mechanical testing and cyclic mechanical testing (fatigue) with in situ immersion. A hydrothermal ageing was also studied in order to be closer to the aimed service conditions.These differents test campaigns showed an important loss of mechanical properties with the ageing processes. The volumetric fiber contents also showed almost no difference after the hydrothermal ageing. The industrial use of a high fiber content can then be questionned.After the first hygrothermal cycle, the composite mechanical elastic properties were found constant, which is reassuring for an industrial use. However, damages accumulated throughout the first 4 cycles before stabilizing.Fatigue results showed that the saturation can enhance the fatigue resistance below a certain maximal loading, which is very interesting for the aimed industrial use.A surfacic numeric modelisation was implemented with the evolution of the mechanical properties thoughout the diffusion process. This modelisation showed that the composite is mostly in compression, which is expected from the constrained swelling of the fibers within the resin, but also showed some developpement ideas which would be necessary to achieve an accurate predictive modelisation. Among these ideas, strong coupling between the diffusion process and the internal strains/stresses of the components.Numerous perspectives were discussed. Multiaxial loadings or breakage mode with impact or creep tests were mentionned. Moreover, the predictive modelisation that was aimed was not achieved yet, but amelioration axes were identified.