Nonlinear behavior of PLA and lignin-based flax composites subjected to tensile loading

The effect of temperature (T = 22 degrees C, 30 degrees C and 35 degrees C) and relative humidity (RH = 34% and 66%) on mechanical behavior of natural fiber reinforced bio-based matrix composites subjected to tensile loading was investigated. Three composites were studied (a) polylactic acid (PLA) composite with 10% weight fraction of flax fibers; (b) PLA composite containing 5% viscose fibers (filaments of regenerated cellulose); (c) lignin-based composite with 30% of flax fibers. Elastic modulus, the nonlinear tensile stress-strain curves and failure were analyzed showing that all materials are temperature sensitive. The nonlinearity was analyzed studying modulus degradation as well as development of viscoelastic and viscoplastic strains. The modulus reduction in PLA-based composites starts after reaching the stress maximum and is not significant, whereas the modulus reduction in lignin-based composites starts before the maximum and it can reach 50%. With increasing RH these effects are slightly larger. The time-dependent phenomena were analyzed in short-term creep and strain recovery tests demonstrating significantly higher viscoplastic strain in lignin composites. Both viscoelastic and viscoplastic strains are larger at higher RH.