Moisture uptake and resulting mechanical response of bio-based composites. II. Composites
2015 (English)In: Polymer Composites, ISSN 0272-8397, E-ISSN 1548-0569, Vol. 36, no 8, p. 1510-1519Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The durability of entirely bio-based composites with respect to the exposure to elevated humidity was evaluated. Different combinations of bio-based resins (Tribest, EpoBioX, Envirez) and cellulosic fibers (flax and regenerated cellulose fiber rovings and fabrics) were used to manufacture unidirectional and cross-ply composite laminates. Water absorption experiments were performed at various humidity levels (41%, 70%, and 98%) to measure apparent diffusion coefficient and moisture content at saturation. Effect of chemical treatment (alkali and silane) of fibers as protection against moisture was also studied. However, fiber treatment did not show any significant improvement and in some cases the performance of the composites with treated fibers was lower than those with untreated reinforcement. The comparison of results for neat resins and composites showed that moisture uptake in the studied composites is primarily due to cellulosic reinforcement. Tensile properties of composites as received (RH = 24%) and conditioned (RH = 41%, 70%, and 98%) were measured in order to estimate the influence of humidity on behavior of these materials. Results were compared with data for glass fiber reinforced composite, as a reference material. Previous results from study of unreinforced polymers showed that resins were resistant to moisture uptake. Knowing that moisture sorption is primarily dominated by natural fibers, the results showed that some of the composites with bio-based resins performed very well and have comparable properties with composites of synthetic epoxy, even at elevated humidity.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley and Sons Inc. , 2015. Vol. 36, no 8, p. 1510-1519
Keywords [en]
Fiber reinforced plastics, Fibers, Laminated composites, Moisture, Natural fibers, Reinforcement, Resins, Surface diffusion, Water absorption, Absorption experiments, Apparent diffusion coefficient, Bio-based composites, Cellulosic reinforcements, Glass fiber reinforced composite, Influence of humidity, Properties of composites, Regenerated cellulose, Epoxy resins, Cellulose Fibers, Chemical Treatment, Composites, Durability, Humidity, Laminates
National Category
Natural Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-41014DOI: 10.1002/pc.23058Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84937162276OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-41014DiVA, id: diva2:1377039
2019-12-102019-12-102020-12-01Bibliographically approved