Influence of Water Absorption on The Selected Properties of Hemp Hurds Composites

All composites based on natural fibers absorb moisture in humid atmosphere and when immersed in water or capillary action. Therefore, one of the major drawbacks of polymer fibers is their high availability to moisture sorption and their heterogeneity, which leads to a weak interface between the fibers and matrix and a poor transfer of the applied stress between the materials, resulting to reduction of physico-mechanical properties. An experimental investigation was conducted to testing the water absorption of hemp composites with MgO-cement binder and its influence on the physico-mechanical and thermal characteristics of composites. The achieved results of composites indicate that water absorption test has deteriorative influence on observed properties due to the degradation of the fibre-matrix interface