Research on Mechanical Behavior of the Flax/Polyactic Acid Composites

ABSTRACT: Composite boards were fabricated using a heat press machine with flax fiber as the reinforcement material and polyactic acid fiber as the matrix. Mechanical properties of the material were tested, and the results indicated that the flax fiber volume fraction of 35 % may be a better choice as far as the tensile and bending properties are concerned. Too low a flax volume fraction would reduce the reinforcing effect of the flax fiber. Too high a flax volume fraction may induce defective bonding between the fiber and the matrix. The orientation of the reinforcing fiber in the material played an important role in determining the mechanical behavior of the materials. KEY WORDS: natural material, melting, mechanical, flax