Tensile Behaviour of Double-Edge Notched Flax Braided Yarn Woven Fabric Reinforced PLA Composite

Biodegradable composites were fabricated from poly-lactic acid (PLA) reinforced by flax braided-yarn woven fabric. Composites with different fabric content (corresponding to the 1, 2 and 3 layers of fabric respectively) were obtained by solution casting and compression moulding processes. Tensile fracture properties were evaluated using the double-edge-notch-tension (DENT) test. A scanning electron microscope was used to look at the fractographic features. Reinforcement of braided-yarn fabric resulted in enhanced tensile fracture strength (& sigma;f) and toughness of PLA composite. Fracture toughness (KIC) of the composite improved with the fibre contents, namely 64, 79 and 89%, which correspond to 1, 2 and 3 layers of fabric. The improvement in the tensile fracture characteristics of the composites could be contributed by the presence of an effective interfacial bonding of fibre matrix.

Automated summary

Biodegradable composites were made by reinforcing poly-lactic acid (PLA) with flax braided-yarn woven fabric through solution casting and compression moulding processes. The tensile fracture properties were evaluated using the DENT test and the fractographic features were observed by scanning electron microscope. The braided-yarn fabric reinforcement improved the tensile fracture strength and toughness of the PLA composite. The fracture toughness of the composite increased with the fiber contents, corresponding to 64%, 79% and 89% for 1, 2 and 3 layers of fabric respectively. The improvement in tensile fracture characteristics may be attributed to the effective interfacial bonding of fiber matrix.