Abstract
The bottleneck in the broad use of natural fiber-reinforced composite (NFRC) is the poor water resistance due to the fiber inherent moisture absorption property. This study presented a unique technology that might revolutionarily solve this bottleneck of NFRC. A polyethylene (PE) film was adhered in-situ to the surfaces of the hemp fiber-reinforced composite by replacing the traditional vacuum bag during the vacuum assisted resin infusion (VARI) process. The water resistance and mechanical properties of composites were examined using contact angle tests, water absorption, mechanical property tests, dynamic mechanical analysis, and scanning electron microscope. Compared to the control NFRC samples, the contact angles of water, coffee and milk (three home pollutants) of PE film protected NFRC (PE-NFRC) dramatically increased from 46.1° to 82.5°, from 43.2° to 70.5°, and from 48.6° to 72.9°, respectively, and the 2h, 24h, and 120h water absorptions of PE-NFRC significantly decreased by 88.5%, 84.8%, and 68.5%, respectively. The results indicated that the water resistance of PE-NFRC was significantly improved. Based on comparisons of specific ultimate strengths of PE-NFRC and glass-fiber sheet molding compound (SMC), it is potential to replace glass fiber SMC by using PE-NFRC in the automotive industry.
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