Damage analysis of flax fibre/elium composite under static and fatigue testing

Abstract

Due to their eco-friendly, bio-degradability characteristics and good mechanical properties, natural fibre composite has become a good alternative in many composite applications such as automotive, aerospace and furniture construction. The present study deals with the mechanical properties of flax fibre reinforcement associated to Elium which is a thermoplastic resin. First, the composite prepared by liquid infusion was subjected to quasi-static tensile loading and cyclic tensile test to investigate macroscopic damage behaviour. Second, a three-point static and fatigue bending test were performed to failure. In case of fatigue test, the hysteresis loops was used as a measure for stiffness degradation, energy dissipation and loss factor. Many configuration of laminate were prepared for experimental work. The flax/Elium composite has shown a promising solution that could be integrated in many industrial applications thanks to its short time needed for manufacturing by infusion and its good mechanical characteristics.