Unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) reinforced with flax fibers, untreated and cold He plasma-treated: thermal, mechanical and DMA studies

Abstract

Hemp, jute, flax, bagasse, coconut and bamboo fibers are some of the natural fibers that have attracted attention for the preparation of composite materials because of their low cost compared with synthetics fibers (glass, carbon). The performance of a natural fiber as reinforcement in composite materials is linked to its ability in term of adhesion with the synthetic matrix. This depends mainly on the quality of the fiber surface. In order to improve this adhesion, a thin reactive coating is generally used. In this study, cold He plasma treatments have been carried out on reinforcing flax fiber. Composites with unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) have been used with untreated flax fibers and plasma-treated fibers. The data characterizing the thermal, mechanical (dynamic and static) will be presented in order to analyze the efficiency of the He plasma treatment on the composite performances.