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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Contributions to the study of the Visco-elastoplastic behavior of a flax fiber – epoxy resin structural composite

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The study presented in the manuscript is positioned in a large context of development of new materials, with a reduced environmental impact. From the possibilities currently under scrutiny (especially in Europe), flax fiber reinforced composites are the most promising. Thanks to their low density and high mechanical properties, as well as their low energy costs, fuel the idea of their usage in structural composites, by replacing glass fibers. These biocomposites are already implemented in numerous applications. However, several scientifical and technical unknowns, especially their long-term behavior, are hindering their use in domains of high load conditions.The thesis proposes to study the time dependent behavior of unidirectional reinforced composites, on the fiber direction. Even though it is largely accepted that the material behavior is viscoelastic and viscoplastic, few studies are dedicated to its analysis.Thus, multi cycled creep/recovery tests with variable creep stress and durations have allowed to determine the behavior’s dependence on stress and time. These tests have also allowed to determine the existence of a stress limit for plastic deformation appearance. They have been associated with the viscoplastic behavior.The results have, afterwards, allowed to propose a behavior law, composed of Schapery’s model for non-linear viscoelasticity and Zapas-Crissman’s model for viscoplasticity. The law parameters have been identified with the help of the creep/recovery tests. The model is capable of predicting the material response in deformation for creep recovery tests as well as load/unload tests. Simulations have also shown the model’s capability to reproduce traction tests with different loading speeds and to reproduce the nonlinear behavior specific to these composite materials.