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Interfacial and mechanical characterisation of biodegradable polymer-flax fibre composites

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Article

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Authors

Pantaloni, D 
Rudolph, AL 
Shah, DU 
Baley, C 
Bourmaud, A 

Abstract

Replacing glass fibres with flax fibres is a first step in reducing the ecological impact of thermoset composite materials, and employing a biodegradable thermoplastic matrix opens up recycling and composting as end-of-life routes. Here, a range of flax fibre reinforced biodegradable thermoplastics were investigated: poly-(hydroxy alkanoate) (PHA), poly-(butylene-succinate) (PBS) and poly-(lactide) (PLA). Poly-(propylene) (PP) and maleic-anhydride grafted poly-(propylene) (MAPP) were studied as industry benchmarks. This study systematically examines the interface between flax fibres and these matrices at multiple scales, and explores the correlations between the measured interfacial properties and macro-scale composite properties. Micro-droplet tests reveal that the adhesion of flax with biodegradable polymers is at least similar to flax-MAPP, and better than flax-PP. In-plane [±45]s shear tests and tensile tests on unidirectional composites reaffirm the observations at the micro-scale, that biodegradable polymer/flax composites present mechanical properties comparable to or better than MAPP/flax composites. Furthermore, comparison between interfacial and composite tensile properties reveals that fibre-matrix adhesion has a substantial role in biocomposite performance.

Description

Keywords

Biocomposites, Interfaces, Mechanical properties, Compression moulding

Journal Title

Composites Science and Technology

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0266-3538
1879-1050

Volume Title

201

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
This work was funded by the Interreg V.A Cross-Channel Programme through the project FLOWER: Flax composites, LOW weight, End of life and Recycling (Grant Number 23).