Development of Flax Fibre based Textile Reinforcements for Composite Applications
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Development of Flax Fibre based Textile Reinforcements for Composite Applications S. Goutianos & T. Peijs & B. Nystrom & M. Skrifvars
Received: 24 February 2006 / Accepted: 14 March 2006 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2006
Abstract Most developments in the area of natural fibre reinforced composites have focused on random discontinuous fibre composite systems. The development of continuous fibre reinforced composites is, however, essential for manufacturing materials, which can be used in load-bearing/structural applications. The current work aims to develop high-performance natural fibre composite systems for structural applications using continuous textile reinforcements like UD-tapes or woven fabrics. One of the main problems in this case is the optimisation of the yarn to be used to manufacture the textile reinforcement. Low twisted yarns display a very low strength when tested dry in air and therefore they cannot be used in processes such as pultrusion or textile manufacturing routes. On the other hand, by increasing the level of twist, a degradation of the mechanical properties is observed in impregnated yarns (e.g., unidirectional composites) similar to off-axis composites. Therefore, an optimum twist should be used to balance processability and mechanical properties. Subsequently, different types of fabrics (i.e., biaxial plain weaves, unidirectional fabrics and non-crimp fabrics) were produced and evaluated as reinforcement in composites manufactured by well established manufacturing techniques such as hand lay-up, vacuum infusion, pultrusion and resin transfer moulding (RTM). Clearly, as expected, the developed materials cannot directly compete in terms of strength with glass fibre composites. However, they are clearly able to compete with these materials S. Goutianos : T. Peijs Materials Department, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK S. Goutianos (*) Materials Research Department, Risø National Laboratory, Frederiksborgvej 399, Build. 228, P.O. 49, Roskilde 4000, Denmark e-mail: [email protected] B. Nystrom : M. Skrifvars SICOMB AB, Box 271, 941 26 Pitea˚, Sweden M. Skrifvars School of Engineering, University College of Bora˚s, S-501 90 Bora˚s, Sweden
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Appl Compos Mater (2006) 13: 199–215
in terms of stiffness, especially if the low density of flax is taken into account. Their properties are however very favourable when compared with non-woven glass composites. Key words long flax fibres . flax pre-yarns . textile reinforcement . natural fibre composites
1. Introduction During the last decade, there is a growing interest in the use of natural fibres as reinforcement for composites due to an increasing environmental awareness, international governmental policy and regulation. The attractiveness of natural fibres as an alternative reinforcement comes from its relatively high specific properties (strength and stiffness) and its good eco-friendly performance when compared to traditional fibres such as glass. Glass fibre reinforced composites, althoug
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