Towards hemp fabrics for high-performance composites: Influence of weave pattern and features

Recent developments in the field of bio-based composite materials are mainly focused on the use of unidirectional reinforcements. The production of woven fabrics and required yarns or rovings is still complex for composite applications due to the finite length of plant fibers and to the high number of process parameters which can be tuned. This study focused on the influence of weave pattern and process parameters on the resulting material properties at different scales. Results from mechanical characterizations and X-ray nanotomography show that very competitive tensile properties can be obtained for woven hemp fabric composites made from low-twisted rovings, in particular when compared to the front-runner flax cross-ply laminate.