Long-Term Water Absorption of Hybrid Flax Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites with Graphene and Its Influence on Mechanical Properties
Article
Article Title | Long-Term Water Absorption of Hybrid Flax Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites with Graphene and Its Influence on Mechanical Properties |
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ERA Journal ID | 201391 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Oun, Amer, Manalo, Allan, Alajarmeh, Omar, Abousnina, Rajab and Gerdes, Andreas |
Journal Title | Polymers |
Journal Citation | 14 (17) |
Article Number | 3679 |
Number of Pages | 19 |
Year | 2022 |
Publisher | MDPI AG |
Place of Publication | Switzerland |
ISSN | 2073-4360 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14173679 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/17/3679 |
Abstract | Interest in the use of natural fibres as an alternative for artificial fibres in polymer composite manufacturing is increasing for various engineering applications. Their suitability for use in outdoor environments should be demonstrated due to their perceived hydrophilic behaviour. This study investigated the water absorption behaviour of hybrid flax fibre-reinforced epoxy composites with 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% graphene by weight that were immersed in water for 1000, 2000, and 3000 h. The flexural and interlaminar shear strength before and after immersion in water was then evaluated. The results showed that graphene nanoparticles improved the mechanical properties of the composites. The moisture absorption process of hybrid natural fibre composites followed the Fickian law, whereas the addition of graphene significantly reduced the moisture absorption and moisture diffusion, especially for hybrid composites with 1.5% graphene. However, the flexural and ILSS properties of the composites with and without graphene decreased with the increase in the exposure duration. The flexural strength of hybrid composites with 0%, 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% graphene decreased by 32%, 11%, 17.5% and 13.4%, respectively, after exposure for 3000 h. For inter-laminar shear strength at the same conditioning of 3000 h, hybrid composites with 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% graphene also decreased by 13.2%, 21% and 17.5%, respectively, compared to the dry composite’s strength. The specimens with 0.5% graphene showed the lowest reduction in strength for both the flexural and interlaminar tests, due to good filler dispersion in the matrix, but all of them were still higher than that of flax fibre composites. Scanning electron microscope observations showed a reduction in voids in the composite matrix after the introduction of graphene, resulting in reduced moisture absorption and moisture diffusion. |
Keywords | graphene nanoparticles; moisture absorption; flax fibre; natural fibre composite; mechanical properties; SEM |
Related Output | |
Is part of | Mechanical and durability performance of hybrid flax fibres and graphene composites |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 401602. Composite and hybrid materials |
Public Notes | This article is part of a UniSQ Thesis by publication. See Related Output. |
Byline Affiliations | Centre for Future Materials |
Macquarie University | |
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z0289/long-term-water-absorption-of-hybrid-flax-fibre-reinforced-epoxy-composites-with-graphene-and-its-influence-on-mechanical-properties
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