Dimensional variations and mechanical behavior of various plant fibre species under controlled hydro / hygrothermal conditions

Abstract

The behavior of biocomposites and their durability are largely influenced by the variations in intrinsic properties between plant species, as well as their high sensitivity to hydro/hygrothermal conditions. In order to quantify these phenomena, we studied the effect of environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity and immersion) on the dimensional variations and on the mechanical behavior of fiber bundles from several botanical origins with contrasting phenotypic characteristics. Our results evidenced differences in swelling and plasticization behaviors from one species to another, thus opening interesting perspectives for the predictive modeling of the “in service” mechanical behavior of biocomposites.