Tensile properties of plant fibre‐polymer composites in fire

Abstract

Summary The structural performance of polymer composites reinforced with plant fibres when exposed to fire was experimentally evaluated and compared against an E‐glass fibre laminate. Fire testing under combined one‐sided radiant heating and static tensile loading revealed that flax, jute, or hemp fibre composites experience more rapid thermal softening and fail within much shorter times than the fibreglass laminate, which is indicative of vastly inferior structural performance in fire. The plant fibre composites soften and fail before the onset of thermal decomposition of the plant fibres and polymer matrix, whereas the E‐glass fibres provide the composite with superior tensile properties to higher temperatures and higher applied tensile stresses. The tensile performance of the three types of plant fibre composites in fire was not identical. When exposed to the same radiant heat flux, the flax fibre composite could withstand higher tensile stresses for longer times than the hemp and jute laminates, which showed similar performance.

Fire reaction and post-fire impact properties of flax fibre reinforced composites containing intumescent flame retardants

“…[16][17][18] Fire structural performance, measured as the capacity of a material to retain load-bearing properties when exposed to fire, is a critical property in determining its uses in transportation and infrastructural applications. 19 Postfire mechanical properties of composites can also indicate the residual mechanical integrity and safety of the structures after fire exposure. 20 Thermal decomposition or combustion of the organic resin matrix directly causes loss in strength and stiffness of composites.…”

Study of thermomechanical coupling in carbon fibers woven‐ply reinforced thermoplastic laminates: Tensile behavior under radiant heat flux

“…Most references dealing with the fire behavior of PMCs are related to thermosetting (TS) matrix composite materials, [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] which have been used for almost 40 years in these sectors (carbon/epoxy, carbon/phenolic, glass/ vinylester, or glass/polyester). From the end of the 1990s, the use of thermoplastic (TP) matrix composite materials has been developing in many industries.…”

Flammability characteristics of chemical treated woven hemp fabric reinforced vinyl ester composites

“…There are lots of work done on the fire retardancy and thermal stability of natural fibre reinforced composites [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Dorez et al [5] studied the thermal and fire behaviour of natural fibres (hemp, flax, sugar cane and bamboo) reinforced polybutylene succinate (PBS) biocomposites and found that the incorporation of fibres in PBS reduced the thermal stability as well as the time to ignition of composites but increased the mass residue corresponding to the formation of a char barrier.…”