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Open hole flexural and izod impact strength of unidirectional flax yarn reinforced polypropylene composites as a function of laminate lay‐up
Author(s) -
Kannan T. Gobi,
Wu Chang Mou,
Cheng Kuo Bing
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.22598
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , flexural strength , ultimate tensile strength , izod impact strength test , polypropylene , composite laminates , composite number
An open hole flexural strength and impact energy of flax yarn‐reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites were studied in this work. Highest flexural strength and strength retention were observed for axial (0 6 ) and cross‐ply (0/90/0) s laminates, respectively, while also examining the influence of laminate lay‐up and open hole size on flexural strength. It was found that maleic anhydride‐grafted polypropylene (MAPP)‐treated composite laminates achieved marginal improvement on flexural strength for all kinds of laminate lay‐up. Off‐axial laminates (±45 6 ) showed a good strength retention for open hole laminates after MAPP treatment. The fractography study confirmed microbuckling and matrix crack propagation over the compressive and tensile side of the laminate, respectively. Furthermore, severe surface damage was detected over the tensile side of 8‐mm hole size laminates. Impact test of the flax/PP laminates showed slight improvement by MAPP treatment. High‐ and low‐impact energy was experienced for axial and off‐axial laminates. The damaged impact sample shows evidence of fiber pull‐out for untreated flax yarn reinforced laminates. POLYM. COMPOS., 34:1912–1920, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers