Mechanical behavior of agave Americana L. fibres: Correlation between fine structure and mechanical properties

Abstract

In this study, results of a mechanical behavior study of fibres extracted from the agave Americana L. plant, the most abundant variety in Tunisia, are presented. These results deal with the principal and mechanical characteristics of these fibres which are the elongation at break, the elasticity modulus and the rupture facture. These results permitted to situate these fibres, compared to the other textile fibres, as materials that can be used in technical applications such as reinforcing composites or geotextile. In order to understand the mechanical properties of these fibres, a correlation study between the properties already cited and the fine structure was done. The obtained results showed that the mechanical properties of agave Americana L. fibres are closely related to the individual fibers deformations and to the natural matrix (lignin and gums) that links these elementary fibres. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information.