Natural fibre thermoplastic tapes to enhance reinforcing effects in composite structures

Semi-consolidated thermoplastic tapes were produced by spreading flax and polypropylene matrix fibres using a newly developed technology. This lightweight tape was structurally stable and contained 38% flax fibres by volume. The tapes were processed in unidirectional and woven fabric format for comp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Composites. Part A, Applied science and manufacturing Applied science and manufacturing, 2020-04, Vol.131, p.105822, Article 105822
Main Authors: Akonda, M.H., Shah, D.U., Gong, R.H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
A. Natural fibres
B. Thermal properties
D. Mechanical properties
E. Tape placement
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Summary:Semi-consolidated thermoplastic tapes were produced by spreading flax and polypropylene matrix fibres using a newly developed technology. This lightweight tape was structurally stable and contained 38% flax fibres by volume. The tapes were processed in unidirectional and woven fabric format for composite fabrication. We found that the flax/PP tape-based composites had 60–110% higher flexural modulus and 35–65% higher tensile modulus compared to flax/PP yarn based thermoplastics. Thermoanalytical results showed that the heating conditions used in the tape-making process did not degrade the flax fibres and PP matrix. We conclude that such semi-consolidated flax/PP tapes enable the achievement of properties not seen before for yarn-based composites, and therefore are an important step forward in optimising the reinforcing effect of natural fibres in composite applications.
ISSN:1359-835X
1878-5840
DOI:10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.105822