Advanced textile technology for fabrication of ramie fiber PLA composites with enhanced mechanical properties

Abstract

Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) has been widely used in preparation of biomass composites in recent years. Ramie fiber (RFs) can be introduced as a reinforcing element to enhance the performance of PLA composites. In this study, a novel fabrication technology through the combination of two-dimensional (2D) braiding and three-dimensional (3D) weaving are used for the preparation of RF/PLA composites with optimized mechanical properties. The twist ratio of ply/single yarn, the curing parameters, and RF content are considered to optimize the mechanical properties of the 3D orthogonal woven composites (3D composites). The tensile strength of RF ply yarn composites increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of twist ratio, and reach the maximum tensile strength (60.4 MPa) when the twist ratio is 0.3. The flexural and shearing properties of the 3D RF/PLA composites reach maximum under optimal curing conditions (190 ℃, 5 MPa, 30 min) at 50% RF content. The maximum flexural strength and modulus are higher than those reported for short RF composites and RF fabric composites. The high performance and low-cost 3D RF/PLA composites have good application potential in the automobile manufacturing industry.