Hydrothermal ageing of fibre metal laminates made of flax fibres

International audienceIn the past two decades, fibre metal laminates (FMLs) have been widely used to manufacture aircraft and aerospace components. FMLs are hybrid composite structures based on thin sheets of metal alloys reinforced by organic matrix composites (Sinmazçelik et al., 2011). When compared to mono-material solutions, FMLs provide added functionalities such as high specific bending strength, fatigue resistance, acoustical absorption, vibration transmissibility and damping characteristics. They overcome most of the limitations of metal and polymeric reinforced composites. The first generation of FMLs was based on thermoset resins. To shorten the process cycle times, lower the production cost and offer interesting end-of life options, a new generation of FMLs based on thermoplastic matrices was developed in a second time. Increasing environmental concerns currently encourage researchers to develop new ranges of recyclable composites based on plant fibres (Gomes Vieira et al., 2017). This last generation of sustainable and lightweight structural components could be integrated in a wider variety of applications including urban infrastructures and mobile street furniture. This work proposes an assessment of the durability of FMLs made of flax/polypropylene composite designed in view of their use for street furniture. The evolution of the static and dynamic (impact) properties of hybrid materials will be presented as a function of hydrothermal ageing time