In recent years, the increasing interest in environmentally friendly materials has brought the attention of material technologists and civil engineers to natural fibres and their potential use in composite materials. Although several research activities have shown the good mechanical properties of these fibres, their use is still limited due to both the absence of standards and guidelines and some open durability issues highlighted in the literature. The present work is a contribution to identifying the main physical and mechanical properties of flax fibres and fabrics intended as internal reinforcement in composite materials with mineral matrix. Due to the lack of standardization on vegetal fibres as constituent of building materials, the experimental research moves from characterising the geometry of bundles. The diameter of single yarn and twisted bundles has been measured by means of a large number of measurements obtained by a microscope: specifically, six values have been recorded for each one of thirty specimens. A comparison with a most accurate SEM analysis has been performed as well. Tensile tests on single yarn, double yarn twisted bundle and textile strip specimens have been carried out. Tensile tests on flax textile have been performed after a specific curing period in controlled environment in order to evaluate the durability of the textile and its sensitivity to alkali agents. The results of the experimental activity showed that the diameter values assessed by means of a microscope are affected by the irregularities of the flax bundles, due to their twisted arrangement. Future developments will target the mechanical behaviour of Textile Reinforcing Mortar (TRM) composite systems based on a bidirectional grid fabric made of the aforementioned flax fibres: assessing the potential of these sustainable and reversible composites systems as a technical solution for in seismic strengthening of existing masonry members and structures is the final goal of this research.

PHYSICAL AND MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF NATURAL FIBRES AND FABRICS AS REINFORCEMENT FOR COMPOSITE SYSTEMS

FERRARA, GIUSEPPE;Bartolomeo Coppola;Luciano Di Maio;Enzo Martinelli
2018-01-01

Abstract

In recent years, the increasing interest in environmentally friendly materials has brought the attention of material technologists and civil engineers to natural fibres and their potential use in composite materials. Although several research activities have shown the good mechanical properties of these fibres, their use is still limited due to both the absence of standards and guidelines and some open durability issues highlighted in the literature. The present work is a contribution to identifying the main physical and mechanical properties of flax fibres and fabrics intended as internal reinforcement in composite materials with mineral matrix. Due to the lack of standardization on vegetal fibres as constituent of building materials, the experimental research moves from characterising the geometry of bundles. The diameter of single yarn and twisted bundles has been measured by means of a large number of measurements obtained by a microscope: specifically, six values have been recorded for each one of thirty specimens. A comparison with a most accurate SEM analysis has been performed as well. Tensile tests on single yarn, double yarn twisted bundle and textile strip specimens have been carried out. Tensile tests on flax textile have been performed after a specific curing period in controlled environment in order to evaluate the durability of the textile and its sensitivity to alkali agents. The results of the experimental activity showed that the diameter values assessed by means of a microscope are affected by the irregularities of the flax bundles, due to their twisted arrangement. Future developments will target the mechanical behaviour of Textile Reinforcing Mortar (TRM) composite systems based on a bidirectional grid fabric made of the aforementioned flax fibres: assessing the potential of these sustainable and reversible composites systems as a technical solution for in seismic strengthening of existing masonry members and structures is the final goal of this research.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11386/4719834
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