Structure and mechanical properties of windmill palm fabric reinforced composites

Abstract

Applications of environmentally friendly high-performance materials derived from natural fibers have attracted tremendous attention. Windmill palm mesh is a novel fiber web with a natural 3D structure. In this paper, natural 3D windmill palm mesh and windmill palm/flax fabrics were prepared as reinforcing materials to prepare epoxy matrix composites. The effects of fiber content, chemical treatment, and textile structure on mechanical properties of the palm materials based composites were investigated. The results showed that the palm materials reinforced composites had excellent mechanical properties. The palm mesh/epoxy composite had a tensile strength of 78 ± 7 MPa, and a young's modulus of 991 ± 92 MPa, when the fiber concentration was 60%. The alkalized windmill palm fiber/flax twill fabric reinforced epoxy composite has a high fracture specific work of 343 KJ/m2.