Capillary effects on flax fibers reinforcement: comparison of chemical and morphological effects on the local wetting dynamics

摘要: The push for more sustainable materials, either biodegradable or fully recyclable has motivated the composite industry to look increasingly at bio-based reinforcements and resins. Caring about the sustainability of both the reinforcements and the resin implies to avoid some chemical treatments that could generate unhealthy products or wastes. The chemical surface state of the sustainable reinforcements is thus hard to control, but of first importance. Indeed, the use of Liquid Composite Moulding (LCM) for composite manufacturing in the transportation industry is increasing since it is considered as an effective and low cost process to manufacture bio-based composites fitting the quality requirements even for parts with complex shape. However observations of a large amount of voids in bio-based composite call for an improved understanding of the local wetting phenomena that occur during impregnation of the bio-based reinforcements. The purpose of this work is to study the influence of flax fibre surface chemistry on the local wetting dynamics [1].