Thermoplastic polymers: overview of several properties and their consequences in flax fibre reinforced composites

In order to assess the most suitable thermoplastic polymer for a certain application, one must know the properties of the available polymers. Since data tend to be widely scattered over many sources, it is the purpose of this article to give an overview of the most relevant properties of a range of thermoplastic polymers. The reported properties are divided into mechanical, physical, and thermal ones. It is clear that many of these properties are interrelated. By consequence some combinations of desired properties are not possible but an overview such as this may provide a useful guide in establishing the best compromise between conflicting property demands. Data are presented mostly as ranges (in tables) as well as in graphs for quick comparison reasons. One specific application (thermoplastic pultrusion with flax as reinforcement) is also studied. In this particular case, polypropylene is found to have the best combination of properties in order to be used as the composite matrix. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.