Abstract
The swelling of natural fibers is often a drawback when considering structural applications of biocomposites. However, this mechanism represents the key towards the development of Hygromorph BioComposites (HBC). This investigation aims to understand the hydroexpansion of 3D-printed continuous flax-fiber reinforced biocomposites and the effect of matrix stiffness.Four continuous flax fiber-based biocomposites were selected with a wide range of stiffness. Water and moisture sorption tests were performed in combination with hydroexpansion measurements. Tensile elastic properties were obtained while the curvature of asymmetric lay-ups was studied to track the internal hydroscopic stress state.An increase of the matrix stiffness reduces the water absorption, the hydroexpansion and the evolution of the elastic properties of the biocomposites thanks to the constraining effect on the fibers that it generates. From the opposite point of view, hydroexpansion can be increased with a low matrix stiffness, opening the way for a 4D-printed HBC with improved performance.
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