Development of a Recyclable Flax Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite
Date
2023-06-28
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Composites in Civil Engineering
Abstract
This study compared the mechanical properties of a recyclable flax fiber reinforced polymer composite (FFRP) with a covalent adaptable network (CAN) matrix to an FFRP composite with a conventional (unrecyclable) epoxy resin matrix. The results indicated that composites fabricated via vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) exhibited up to 19% higher tensile modulus and strength compared to those fabricated via hand layup, attributed to reduced air void content and more uniform fiber alignment. Microscopy evidence supported by mechanical property tests revealed superior adhesion of the CAN matrix to flax fibers compared to conventional epoxy resin. Additionally, a solvent-based method was demonstrated for separating fibers from the CAN matrix, facilitating reuse or upcycling.
Description
This article was originally published in the official Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites in Civil Engineering (CICE 2023), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 24-26 July 2023. The version of record is available at: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8092082.
Keywords
recyclable, flax, FFRP, VARTM, epoxy, covalent adaptable networks, vitrimer
Citation
Das, S., Doshi, S., Millan, E., Mendez, D., Luckenbill, D., and Tatar, J. “Development of a Recyclable Flax Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite”. Zenodo, 2023. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8092082.