The effect of surface treatment on the creep behavior of flax fiber reinforced composites under hygrothermal aging conditions

The application of natural FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) is being targeted in various fields due to both environmental and economic benefits. FFRP (Flax Fiber Reinforced Polymer) is one of the major natural FRPs. The durability and long-term performance of FFRP have been proven a key to its practical engineering application. Some experimental works have been conducted to investigate the creep properties of FFRP. However, fewer efforts have been made to improve its creep performance thus far. In this paper, the effect of surface treatment on the creep behavior of FFRP under hygrothermal aging conditions is studied, and a fractional-order creep model is established to predict its creep behavior. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.