Volume 69, February 2015, Pages 299–305
- a University of Rouen, UMR 6270 CNRS, FR 3038, 76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan Cedex, France
- b Department of Oil and Fiber Crops, NI Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
- c LBN Flax Scutching Company, Le Bocasse, France
- d University of Le Havre, LOMC UMR 6294 CNRS, 76058 Le Havre Cedex, France
- e University of Brighton, School of Pharmacy, BN2 4AT Brighton, United Kingdom
- Received 31 March 2014, Revised 12 November 2014, Accepted 14 November 2014, Available online 12 December 2014
Abstract
Natural
biocomposites were prepared from flax fibers and mucilage
polysaccharides extracted from flax seeds, as a matrix, in two steps:
impregnation and compression molding. The ribbons were preimpregnated
with water plasticized mucilage. Solid mucilage (30%, w/w) was added to
the ribbon impregnated with 20% mucilage, and the composite was
compression molded. The solidified mucilage was homogeneous and rigid
(2 GPa) with an elastic deformation of approximately 1%. The mechanical
properties of the composites were in the ranges of 7–10 GPa, 300–400 MPa
and 4–5% for the modulus, maximal strength and strain, respectively.
The two latter parameters were larger than the ones for the fiber. The
experimental values of the modulus and strength were in accordance with
the values computed using the rule of mixture, which indicated a good
interface between the fibers and the matrix. This was confirmed visually
with scanning electron microscopy. The water sorption behavior of the
composites was intermediate between the mucilage and the fiber alone.
Keywords
- Fabrics/textiles;
- Mechanical properties;
- Mechanical testing;
- Compression moulding
- Corresponding author. Tel.:
+33 2 35 14 66 94; fax: +33 2 35 14 67 04.
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