Open Access

ARTICLE

Hygrothermal/UV Aging Effect on Visual Aspect and Mechanical Properties of Non-Woven Natural-Fiber Composites

Daniel Scida^1,*, Sébastien Alix¹, Stéphane Buet¹, El Hadi Saidane¹, François Courmont^1,2, Karim Behlouli², Rezak Ayad¹

1 Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, LISM EA4695, 51097 Reims, France.
2 EcoTechnilin SAS, ZA Caux Multipôles 76190 Valliquerville, Arrondissement de Rouen, France.

*Corresponding Author: Daniel Scida. Email: .

Journal of Renewable Materials 2019, 7(9), 865-875. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2019.06609

Abstract

This work aims at studying the effect of hygrothermal and UV cyclic aging on the tensile properties and esthetic characteristics of non-woven composites. The composite materials were thermo-compressed from non-woven mats made up of PP and flax or kenaf fibers. This works included evaluating the change in color appearance and analyzing the variations in tensile properties and damage mechanisms, depending on the aging time. The presence of the UV protection film on the composite surface showed its effectiveness against aging. From visual observations and measurement of colorimetric parameters, it has been proved effective in the reduction of the bleaching and yellowing of the composites. As regards the tensile tests, the UV protection film enabled to stabilize the Young’s modulus after 1-week aging for Kenaf/PP and after 3-weeks for Flax/PP. After 4-weeks aging, it halved the number of acoustic emission events related to interfacial decohesion and fiber slippage/pull out for Flax/PP and Kenaf/PP composites.

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