Search results for "Flax fiber"
showing 8 items of 18 documents
Apparent interfacial shear strength of short-flax-fiber/starch acetate composites
2016
Abstract The paper deals with an indirect industry-friendly method for identification of the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) in a fully bio-based composite. The IFSS of flax fiber/starch acetate is evaluated by a modified Bowyer and Bader method based on an analysis of the stress–strain curve of a short-fiber-reinforced composite in tension. A shear lag model is developed for the tensile stress–strain response of short-fiber-reinforced composites allowing for an elastic-perfectly plastic stress transfer. Composites with different fiber volume fractions and a variable content of plasticizer have been analyzed. The apparent IFSS of flax/starch acetate is within the range of 5.5–20.5 MPa, de…
Experimental design of the bearing performances of flax fiber reinforced epoxy composites by a failure map
2018
Abstract This paper represents the first effort aimed to the investigation of the pin/hole contact stress and failure mechanisms of epoxy composites reinforced with woven flax fabrics, underwent to tensile bearing tests. In particular, the maximum loads and failure modes are evaluated at varying the laminate geometrical configuration. In order to optimize the use of polymer composites reinforced with flax fibers in structural applications, an experimental failure map, identifying main failure modes of mechanically fastened joints, is obtained as function of hole diameter, distance of the hole from the free edge of the laminate and laminate width. Moreover, a theoretical approach based on th…
A comparative study of fatigue behaviour of flax/epoxy and glass/epoxy composites
2012
Experimental investigations on flax and glass fabrics reinforced epoxy specimens, i.e. FFRE and GFRE, submitted to fatigue tests are presented in this paper. Samples having [0/90]3S and [±45]3S stacking sequences, with similar fibre volume fractions have been tested under tension–tension fatigue loading. The specific stress-number of cycles to failure (S–N) curves, show that for the [0/90]3S specimens, FFRE have lower fatigue endurance than GFRE, but the [±45]3S FFRE specimens offer better specific fatigue endurance than similar GFRE, in the studied life range (<2 × 10^6). Overall, the three-stage stiffness degradation is observed in all cases except for [0/90]3S FFRE specimens, which prese…
Effect of glass fiber hybridization on the durability in salt-fog environment of pinned flax composites
2021
The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the effect of the hybridization with external layers of glass fibers on the durability of flax fiber reinforced composites in severe aging conditions. To this scope, full glass, full flax and hybrid glass–flax pinned laminates were exposed to a salt-fog environment for up to 60 days. Double-lap pinned joint tests were performed to assess the pin-hole joints performances at varying the laminate stacking sequence. In order to better discriminate the relationship between the mechanical behavior and the fracture mechanisms of joints at increasing the aging time, different geometries (i.e., by varying both the hole diameter D and the free edge distance…
Model of the mechanical response of short flax fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites
2011
Abstract Natural-fiber-reinforced short-fiber composites are finding more applications lately, therefore there is a need for estimation of the mechanical properties of such composites based on the properties of the constituents. The fibers themselves also possess complicated internal structure, resulting in anisotropy of their properties. Taking into account the internal structure of bast fiber, we evaluate the elastic properties of a composite unit cell, consisting of a fiber of average length and matrix according to the fiber volume fraction in the composite. The unit cell properties are used to estimate the stiffness of a misaligned short-fiber composite by means of orientation averaging…
Flax–Glass Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Composites Exposed to a Salt-Fog/Dry Cycle: A Simplified Approach to Predict Their Performance Recovery
2023
Despite natural fibers gaining significant attention in recent decades, their limited performance and poor durability under humid environments cannot allow them to fully replace their synthetic counterparts as reinforcement for structural composites. In such a context, this paper aims to investigate how exposure to a humid/dry cycle affects the mechanical response of epoxy laminates reinforced with flax and glass fibers. In particular, the main goal is to assess the performance evolution of a glass–flax hybridized stacking sequence in comparison with the full glass and flax fiber reinforced composites. To this end, the investigated composites were first exposed to salt-fog for 15 or 30 days…
Strength and Damage of Elementary Flax Fibers Extracted from Tow and Long Line Flax
2009
Flax fibers possess high specific strength and stiffness, and thus are competitive in terms of mechanical properties with traditional reinforcing fibers used in polymer-matrix composite materials. For environmental and economical benefit, it would be preferable to apply nontextile grade fibers in composites provided their mechanical characteristics are acceptable. Elementary fibers have been extracted from long line flax, used as high-quality raw material for textile industry, and flax tow, and their strength distribution and damage level determined. It is shown that the elementary flax fibers coming from short flax fiber are not inferior to those of textile-quality flax in terms of streng…
Modeling the nonlinear deformation of flax-fiber-reinforced polymer matrix laminates in active loading
2015
In an attempt to fully utilize the mechanical properties of bast fibers in polymer-matrix composites, unidirectional (UD) or quasi-UD flax-fiber-reinforced composites are being developed and characterized. Their response in tension is markedly nonlinear both in on- and off-axis loading. A semiempirical tensor-linear model is applied to describe such deformation nonlinearity in active combined loading. The deformation model of UD ply, combined with an elementary laminate theory, is used to predict the stress–strain curves of laminated composites in tension. Reasonable accuracy of prediction is demonstrated for fiber-dominated layups.