Advanced three-dimensional textile technique for fabrication of sisal/flax hybrid fiber green biocomposite with enhanced mechanical, thermal, and sound isolation properties
Jinhui Su, Xue Yang, Ying Yao, Jing Long, Haiyang Zhang, Chunhong Wang, Zhigang Li, Xiaolin Zhang, Lin Hou, Wei Fan
Abstract
Natural fibers are regarded as ideal reinforcements for fiber-reinforced composites due to their high specific strength and biodegradability. In this study, three-dimensional orthogonal woven sisal/flax yarn hybrid bio-based epoxy resin composites (3DOWSBCs) were firstly employing a novel three-dimensional orthogonal weaving technique, and their mechanical properties were experimentally examined, and compared with those of traditional lamination composites. Secondly, a finite element model (FEM) was constructed to predict and analyze the shear behaviors of 3DOWSBCs in order to elucidate the strengthening mechanisms of Z-yarns. Additionally, the thermal and acoustic properties also discussed. The results suggested that the flexural strength and shear strength of 3DOWSBCs (141.15 MPa, 22.80 MPa) were 37.9 % and 86.9 % higher than the laminates, respectively. The FEM results demonstrated a strong correlation with the experimental data and revealed that the impact of Z-yarns on the mechanical properties in out-of-plane direction was more significant than that in in-plane direction. Furthermore, 3DOWSBCs had low thermal conductivity (0.29 W/m·K) and high sound transmission loss (63 dB). The environmentally friendly and excellent-performance 3DOWSBCs are a promising semi-structural industrial composites with great potential to alleviate energy consumption and promote sustainable industry development. • Developing green composites is beneficial to the industrial application of crops. • 3D orthogonal weaving technique effectively improves the mechanical properties. • The enhance mechanism of Z-yarns was revealed by experiment and simulation. • Demonstrated the potential of composites for thermal and sound insulation.