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COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Composites Science and Technology xxx (2006) xxxxxx www.elsevier.com/locate/compscitech

Eect of water absorption on the mechanical properties of hemp bre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites
H.N. Dhakal *, Z.Y. Zhang, M.O.W. Richardson
Advanced Polymer and Composites (APC) Research Group, Department of Mechanical and Design Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Anglesea Road, Anglesea Building, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO1 3DJ, UK Received 12 April 2006; received in revised form 22 June 2006; accepted 29 June 2006

Abstract Hemp bre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites (HFRUPE) were subjected to water immersion tests in order to study the eects of water absorption on the mechanical properties. HFRUPE composites specimens containing 0, 0.10, 0.15, 0.21 and 0.26 bre volume fraction were prepared. Water absorption tests were conducted by immersing specimens in a de-ionised water bath at 25 C and 100 C for dierent time durations. The tensile and exural properties of water immersed specimens subjected to both aging conditions were evaluated and compared alongside dry composite specimens. The percentage of moisture uptake increased as the bre volume fraction increased due to the high cellulose content. The tensile and exural properties of HFRUPE specimens were found to decrease with increase in percentage moisture uptake. Moisture induced degradation of composite samples was signicant at elevated temperature. The water absorption pattern of these composites at room temperature was found to follow Fickian behaviour, whereas at elevated temperatures it exhibited non-Fickian. 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: A. Polymermatrix composites; Natural bre; B. Mechanical properties; D. Mechanical testing

1. Introduction The use of natural plant bres as reinforcement in polymer composites for making low cost engineering materials has generated much interest in recent years. New environmental legislation as well as consumer pressure has forced manufacturing industries (particularly automotive, construction and packaging) to search for new materials that can substitute for conventional non-renewable reinforcing materials such as glass bre [1]. The advantages of natural plant bres over traditional glass bres are acceptable as good specic strengths and modulus, economical viability, low density, reduced tool wear, enhanced energy recovery, reduced dermal and respiratory irritation and good biodegradability [2]. Natural plant bre reinforced polymeric composites, also have some disadvantages such as the
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 23 9284 2396; fax: +44 23 9284 2351. E-mail address: hom.dhakal@port.ac.uk (H.N. Dhakal).

incompatibility between the hydrophilic natural bres and hydrophobic thermoplastic and thermoset matrices requiring appropriate use of physical and chemical treatments to enhance the adhesion between bre and the matrix [3]. Hemp is also called cannabis sativa. It is an annual herbaceous plant native to Asia and widely cultivated in Europe [4]. Hemp and ax are the only commercial sources of long natural bres grown in the UK Plant stems are processed by various mechanical methods to extract the bre [5]. Fibres from hemp stems have been widely used in the production of cords and clothing, and have potential for reinforcement in polymermatrix composites (PMCs). Recently, car manufacturers have started manufacturing non-structural components using hemp and ax bres due to their higher specic strength and lower price compared to conventional reinforcements [6]. All polymer composites absorb moisture in humid atmosphere and when immersed in water. The eect of

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absorption of moisture leads to the degradation of bre matrix interface region creating poor stress transfer eciencies resulting in a reduction of mechanical and dimensional properties [7]. One of the main concerns for the use of natural bre reinforced composite materials is their susceptibility to moisture absorption and the eect on physical, mechanical and thermal properties [8]. It is important therefore that this problem is addressed in order that natural bre may be considered as a viable reinforcement in composite materials. Several studies in the use of natural bre reinforced polymeric composites have shown that the sensitivity of certain mechanical and thermal properties to moisture uptake can be reduced by the use of coupling agents and bre surface treatments [9,10]. Moisture diusion in polymeric composites has shown to be governed by three dierent mechanisms [11,12]. The rst involves of diusion of water molecules inside the micro gaps between polymer chains. The second involves capillary transport into the gaps and aws at the interfaces between bre and the matrix. This is a result of poor wetting and impregnation during the initial manufacturing stage. The third involves transport of microcracks in the matrix arising from the swelling of bres (particularly in the case of natural bre composites). Generally, based on these mechanisms, diusion behaviour of polymeric composites can further be classied according to the relative mobility of the penetrant and of the polymer segments, which is related to either Fickian, non-Fickian or anomalous, and an intermediate behaviour between Fickian and non-Fickian [13,14]. In general moisture diusion in a composite depends on factors such as volume fraction of bre, voids, viscosity of matrix, humidity and temperature [15]. The objective of this work was to compare the inuence of both bre reinforcement and water uptake on mechanical properties of hemp bre reinforcement unsaturated polyester composites and the related kinetics and characteristics of the water absorption. 2. Experimental procedure 2.1. Materials The matrix material used in this study was based on a commercially available unsaturated polyester, Trade Name NORPOL 444-M888 supplied by Reichhold UK Ltd. The matrix was mixed with curing catalyst, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) at a concentration of 0.01 w/w of the matrix for curing. Needle punched randomly oriented non-woven hemp bre, fabric weight 330 g/m2, was used as the reinforcement and was provided by JB Plant Fibres Enterprises Ltd. The typical chemical composition
Table 1 Typical chemical composition and structure parameters of hemp bre Cellulose 74.4 Hemicellulose 17.9 Lignin 3.7 Pectins 0.9 Wax 0.8

and the structure of hemp bre are presented in Table 1 [16]. The mechanical and physical properties of the polyester, hemp, and glass bre used in this study are presented in Table 2 [17]. 2.2. Processing A combination of hand lay-up and compression moulding method was used to prepare the HFRUPE composite samples. Non-woven hemp bre mat was rst dried at 100 C to remove storage moisture in a fan-assisted oven. The storage moisture was recorded for hemp mat approximately 9%. A measured quantity of unsaturated polyester resin mixed with a catalyst (MEKP) for rapid curing was poured on a pre-weighed amount of non-woven hemp bre mat, which was placed in a mould. The mould was coated with a semi-permanent, polymer mould release agent, Frekote FRP90-NC. After pouring the resin, each layer was left for a few minutes to allow the resin to soak into the bre mat. Trapped air was gently squeezed out using a roller. The hemp bre and polyester resin were then left for about 3 min to allow air bubbles to escape from the surface of the resin. The mould was closed and the composite panel was left to cure in a hydraulic press at a temperature of 22 C and at a compaction pressure of 10 bar for 1.5 h. The fabrication route of the HFRUPE composites is depicted in Fig. 1. The schematic of a hydraulic press used to consolidate composite panels is shown in Fig. 2. After being taken out from the hydraulic press, the panel was left to cure at a temperature of 22 C for 24 h before being removed from the mould. Subsequently, post curing was carried out at a temperature of 80 C for 3 h. In addition to this non-woven hemp bre, a randomly oriented chopped strand mat (E-glass bre 40 w/w%) was used to prepare reference glass bre composite sample fabricated using similar procedure for comparison purpose. 2.3. Water absorption tests The eect of water absorption on hemp bre reinforced unsaturated composites were investigated in accordance with BS EN ISO 62:1999 [18]. The samples for tensile and

Table 2 Comparative values of physical and mechanical properties of hemp with E-glass bre Fibre Hemp E-glassa
a

Density (g/cm3) 1.14 2.50

Elongation to break (%) 1.6 2.5

Tensile strength (MPa) 690 20003500

Youngs modulus (GPa) 3060 70

For comparison purpose.

Cell length (mm) 23.0

Spiral angle (Deg) 6.2

Moisture content (%) 10.8

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Resin/catalyst/hemp fibre

Unsaturated polyester

Catalyst (MEKP)

Hemp fibre

Resin/catalyst mixing/hemp fibre drying

Mixing

Drying Time: 1 hr Temp: 100 dc

Mixture of Resin/catalyst/hemp fibre

Mixture of resin/catalyst

Mould frame

Hemp fibre

Hemp fibre/mixture of resin and catalyst

Hand lay up

Processing

Hydraulic press consolidation Time: 1.5 hrs, Pressure: 10 Bars Temp: 25 dc

Post curing

Post curing Time: 3 hrs, temp:80 dc

Composites

Composite laminate

Fig. 1. Process ow chart showing the applied fabrication route of HFRUPE composites.

Heat and pressure

conduction plate

Hot press platen

Top/bottom mould plates

Mixture of UPE/catalyst/hemp in a mould frame

conduction plate

Hot press platen

Heat and pressure

Fig. 2. Schematic of the composite consolidation.

exural tests containing dierent bre volume fractions of reinforcement were machined to a size of 150 20 3 mm3 and 60 15 3 mm3, respectively. First all the specimens were dried in an oven at 50 C and then were allowed them to cool to room temperature in a desiccator before weighing them to the nearest 0.1 mg. This process was repeated until the mass of the specimens were reached constant. Water absorption tests were conducted by immersing the HFRUPE specimens in a de-ionised water bath at 25 C for dierent time durations. After immersion for 24 h, the specimens were taken out from the water and all surface water was removed with a clean dry cloth. The specimens were reweighed to the nearest 0.1 mg within 1 min of removing them from the water. The specimens were

weighed regularly at 24, 48, 98, 196, 392 up to 888 h exposure. Similarly, the specimens were immersed in water at 100 C to determine water absorption at a higher temperature. For this test, the specimens were placed in a container of boiling de-ionised water. After 30 min of immersion, the specimens were removed from the boiling water, cooled in de-ionised water for 15 min at room temperature then removed and weighed to the nearest 0.1 mg. The weight of the samples was measured at dierent time intervals up to 31 h of exposure until the water content reached saturation. The moisture absorption was calculated by the weight dierence. The percentage weight gain of the samples was measured at dierent time intervals and the moisture content versus square root of time was plotted.

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2.4. Mechanical testing 2.4.1. Tensile testing The tensile strength and modulus of the hemp bre reinforced composites before and after water immersion were with a crosshead speed of 10 mm/min in accordance with BS EN 2747:1998 [19]. Test specimens were individually cut using a diamond wheel into rectangular beams from the laminate slabs fabricated by a hand lay-up process. The cut edges were then smoothed using 240 Grade SiC paper. 2.4.2. Flexural testing The exural strength and modulus of the composite before and after water immersion were determined using three-point bending test method following BS EN 2746:1998 test method [20]. A span of 48 mm, maintaining a span to depth ratio of 16:1, was used in a 30 kN load cell. The load was placed midway between the supports. The crosshead speed applied was 2 mm/min. Each sample was loaded until the core broke and their average is reported. 2.4.3. Scanning electron microscopy In order to understand the eect of water absorption on the microstructure of composites the surfaces of the waterimmersed specimens were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) JSM 6100. 3. Results and discussion The results obtained from this experimental study can be divided into two parts. The rst part considers the nature of the diusion into the hemp reinforced composites and the second evaluates the eects of water absorption at room temperature and at 100 C exposure on the mechanical properties. 3.1. Sorption behaviour The percentage of water absorption in the composites was calculated by weight dierence between the samples immersed in water and the dry samples using the following equation: DM t mt mo 100 mo 1

where mi is the initial weight of the moisture in the material and ms is the weight moisture in the material when the material is fully saturated, in equilibrium with its environment. D is the mass diusivity in the composite. This is an eective diusivity since all the heterogeneities of the composites have been neglected. h is thickness of specimen and t is the time and j is the summation index. The diusion coecient is an important parameter in Ficks law. Solving the diusion equation for the weight of moisture, and rearranging in terms of the percent moisture content, the following relationship is obtained: 4M m  t 0:5 0:5 M Dx 3 h p where Mm is the equilibrium moisture content of the sample. Using the weight gain data of the material with respect to time, a graph of weight gain versus time is plotted. The diusion coecient can be calculated using the following formula: D d2 p2 t70 4

Where d is sample thickness in mm and t70 is time taken to reach 70% saturation in seconds. The diusion properties of composites described by Ficks laws was evaluated by weight gain measurements of pre-dried specimen immersed in water by considering the slope of the rst part of the weight gain curve versus square root of time by using the following equation [25]. The coecient of diusion (D) dened as the slope of the p normalised mass uptake against t and has the form:  2 kh Dp 5 4M m where, k is the initial slope of a plot of M(t) versus t1/2, Mm is the maximum weight gain and h is the thickness of the composites. Fig. 3 shows percentage of weight gain as a function of square root of time for UPE and various loading levels of
UPE only UPE/4 Layer hemp UPE/2 Layer hemp UPE/5 Layer hmep UPE/ 3 Layer hemp UPE/CSM

12 10

where DM(t) is moisture uptake, Mo and Mt are the mass of the specimen before and during aging, respectively. Dierent models have been developed in order to describe the moisture absorption behaviour of the materials [21,22]. For one-dimensional moisture absorption each sample is exposed, on both sides, to the same environment, the total moisture content G can be expressed as follows [23,24]: " # 2 1 m mi 8 X 1 2j 1 p2 Dx t G 1 2 exp p j 0 2j 1 2 ms mi h2 2

Weight gain (%)

8 6 4 2 0 0 10 20 30
1/2

40

Time (Hours)

Fig. 3. Water absorption curves at RT for dierent specimens.

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UPE/3 Layer hemp UPE/5 Layer hemp

UPE/hemp reinforced samples immersed in de-ionised water at room temperature (23 C). The maximum percentage weight gain for UPE, 3, 4 and 5 layers of hemp bre reinforced specimens, corresponding to 0, 0.15, 0.21 and 0.26 bre volume fractions, respectively, immersed at room temperature for 888 h is 0.879, 5.63, 8.16 and 10.97%, respectively. The water uptake process for all specimens except CSM, which hardly absorbs any water, is linear in the beginning, then slows and approaches saturation after prolonged time, following a Fickian diusion process. Both the initial rate of water absorption and the maximum water uptake increases for all HFRUPE composites samples as the bre volume fraction increases. This phenomenon can be explained by considering the water uptake characteristics of hemp bre. When the composite is exposed to moisture, the hydrophilic hemp bre swells. As a result of bre swelling, micro cracking of the brittle thermosetting resin (like unsaturated polyester) occurs. The high cellulose content in hemp bre (approximately 74%) further contributes to more water penetrating into the interface through the micro cracks induced by swelling of bres creating swelling stresses leading to composite failure [26]. As the composite cracks and gets damaged, capillarity and transport via micro cracks become active. The capillarity mechanism involves the ow of water molecules along brematrix interfaces and a process of diusion through the bulk matrix. The water molecules are actively attack the interface, resulting in debonding of the bre and the matrix [27]. The SEM evidence in Fig. 4 supports this explanation. Fig. 5 shows the percentage of weight gain for UPE, 3, 4 and 5 layers of hemp specimens immersed in water at 100 C. For UPE, 3, 4 and 5 layer hemp reinforced specimens the percentage of moisture absorption is 1.947, 7.366, 9.12 and 13.53%, respectively. The eect of bre volume fraction and temperature on water absorption can be clearly seen. The rate of approach to equilibrium is clearly more rapid for the 100 C specimens than the samples immersed at RT. Higher temperatures seem to accelerate the moisture uptake behaviour. When the temperature of immersion is increased, the moisture saturation time (MST) is greatly shortened. For 5 layer hemp samples at room temperature, it takes 888 h to reach MST whereas for 100 C samples, the MST is 31 h. The MST in this case was shortened by 857 h. This shows that sorption at room

UPE only

16 14 12

UPE/4 Layer hemp

Weight gain (%)

10 8 6 4 2 0 0 2 4 6
1/2

Time (Hours )

Fig. 5. Water absorption curves at boiling temperature for dierent specimens.

temperature takes far longer period to reach equilibrium than sorption at elevated temperatures. In addition to the increase in weight gain percentage, it also shows the weight gain is higher for samples immersed in boiling water than at room temperature. For 5 layer hemp samples, the weight gain percentage at moisture saturation point at boiling temperature is approximately 23% higher than at room temperature. It is evident that there is a dierent sorption behaviour for immersion at room temperature than for elevated temperature indicating dierent aging mechanisms. The higher and faster weight gain upon exposure to boiling water may be attributed to the dierent diusivity of water into the material leading to moisture induced interfacial cracks at an accelerated rate as a result of degradation in the brematrix interface region as well as the state of water molecules existing in the HFRUPE composites. Other studies also have reported a similar trend for ageing of polymer composites at elevated temperatures [28]. Table 3 presents the diusion coecients for both room temperature and 100 C water-immersed specimens. It can be seen that the maximum moisture content and the diusion coecient values increases steadily with an increase in bre volume fraction. The increase is more pronounced for the specimens immersed at 100 C than those of immersed

Fig. 4. Failure showing (a) matrix cracking, (b) fracture running along the interface and (c) brematrix debonding due to attack by water molecules.

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Stress for samples without moisture absorption
80 70

Table 3 Moisture uptake of hemp bre composites immersed in water at RT and 100 C Composite bre (vol%) Saturation moisture uptake Mm (%) RT 0 (UPE only) 10 (2L hemp) 15 (3L hemp) 21 (4L hemp) 26 (5L hemp) 0.879 3.441 5.639 8.161 10.972 100 C 1.947 7.366 9.125 13.533 Initial slope of plot (k) M(t) versus t1/2 RT 0.102 0.102 0.247 0.346 0.496 100 C 0.437 1.178 1.562 2.375 Diusion coecient, D, 103 (m2/s) RT 5.714 1.551 3.618 3.841 4.367 100 C 88 48 62 67

Stress for samples with moisture absorption

Tensile stress (MPa)

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0.1 0.15 0.21 0.26 UPE

Data in table are means with a sample size of 3 for each specimen group.

at RT. Higher bre loaded samples, as would be expected, contain a greater diusivity due to higher cellulose content. The moisture uptake at elevated temperatures compared to RT seems to obey non-Fickian behaviour showing a 23% higher moisture uptake for 5 layer hemp bre reinforced composites. The moisture uptake results in this study show Fickian behaviour at room temperature and non-Fickian at boiling temperature. This is attributed due to the moist, high temperature environment, and microcracks developed on the surface and inside the materials [29]. As the cracks develops material is actually lost, most likely in the form of resin particles [30,31] as can be seen in Fig. 6a and b. After the occurrence of damage in the composites water transport mechanisms become more active [32]. The deviation from Fickian water uptake behaviour at 100 C is attributed to the development of micro cracks in the composites [33]. 3.2. Eect of moisture absorption on mechanical properties 3.2.1. Tensile properties The tensile stresses and strain versus bre volume fraction results for these samples are shown in Figs. 7 and 8. For both dry and water aged samples (exposure time 888 h at RT), the stressstrain curves are linear up to the point of failure. There is no aect of water absorption on tensile stress for UPE samples. The tensile stress was rather increased after water immersion of 888 h. Similarly, for 2 layer hemp reinforced samples, the tensile stress is increased by 22% after immersion in water. This increase in tensile

Fibre volume fraction

Fig. 7. Tensile stress versus bre volume fraction.

Strain for samples without moisture absorption

14 12 10

Strain for samples with moisture absorption

Strain (%)

8 6 4 2 0 0.1 0.15 0.21 0.26 UPE

Fibre volume fraction

Fig. 8. Tensile strain versus bre volume fraction.

Fig. 6. Degradation of composite showing (a) crack development (b) lost of resin particles due to high accelerated ageing at 100 C.

stress for unreinforced and 2 layer hemp reinforced sample implies that further crosslinking or other mechanisms are taking place enhancing the material strength. The tensile stress however, drops by 38 and 15%, respectively, for 3 and 4 layer hemp reinforced specimens. Generally, for higher bre volume composites samples immersed in water, it is expected that the relative extent of decrease in tensile properties is greater compared to dry samples. However, it is interesting to note that for 5 layer hemp reinforced samples, the ultimate tensile stress of wet samples is higher than that for dry samples. This could be due to the fact that high amounts of water causes swelling of the bres, which could ll the gaps between the bre and the polymermatrix and eventually could lead to an increase in the mechanical properties of the composites [34]. Similar observations have been reported for jute bre reinforced polymer composites where after 24 h of soaking in water the exural strength increased

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by 28% and after 72 h of water immersion, and exural strength was increased by 45% [35]. The failure tensile strain value for all water-immersed specimens was found to increase compared to dry specimens. The increase in failure strain upon exposure of the samples to a wet environment can be attributed to the plasticisation of hemp samples caused by moisture absorption. Fig. 9a shows a SEM picture of hemp bre. At regular intervals along the bre surface, kinks or nodes can be clearly seen. Fig. 9b shows a HFRUPE composite where the eect of kinks or nodes on the surface of the composite laminate reect the misalignment of bres. When these irregularly shaped bres are placed in composites they do not seem aligned properly leading to bre entanglement. Fibre alignment factors play a crucial role in the overall properties of composites. There is always a chance of bre entanglement with randomly oriented bre reinforced composites. The random orientation of bres produces lower mechanical properties compared to long unidirectionally orientated bres. This bre entanglement can create resin rich areas, which can contribute to the formation of voids and porosity (Fig. 10). Voids and porosity can act as stress concentrators leading to failure of composite samples. Hence, the void content for 2, 3, 4 and 5 layers of hemp bre composites specimen was found to be 12.56, 14.46, 16.60 and 18.64%, respectively. The void content of

composite was calculated using the following standard formula:   wf wm V v 1 qc 6 qf qm where Vv is the volume fraction of voids, qc the density of composite, wf the weight percent of bre (%), wm the weight percent of matrix (%), qf the density of bre g/cm3 and qm is the density of matrix g/cm3. As far as voids content in natural bre composites is concern, the fabrication techniques are not yet fully developed and the natural origin of the bre component necessarily induces an element of variation in to the composites; both factors contribute in creation of voids which aects to the overall composite properties. It is evident in this study that as the bre volume fraction of hemp reinforced composite sample increases the void content also increases. 3.2.2. Flexural properties The exural stressstrain versus bre volume fraction results for dry and water immersed (exposure time 888 h at RT) HFRUPE composites are shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The observations made earlier for the eect of water absorption on tensile stress/strain properties are also relevant here. The exural stress drops incrementally as the bre volume fraction increases hence increased moisture uptake percentage. The decrease in exural properties after water immersion can be related to the weak brematrix interface due to water absorption. Flexural strain for water-immersed samples has increases dramatically compared to dry samples. Flexural strain for 5 layer hemp reinforced dry samples is 8% whereas after 888 h of water immersion the strain is almost doubled. HFRUPE composites become more rigid due to the lower exibility of the unsaturated polyester chain. After water aging for 888 h, strain is almost doubled compared to dry specimens since natural bre reinforced composites tend to be ductile once the loss of cellulose and integrity has taken place [36]. It has been reported that water molecules act as a plasticiser agent in the composite material, which normally leads to an

Fig. 9. SEM micrograph of hemp bre (a) showing kinks or nodes (b) showing bre misalignment and entanglement.

Fig. 10. Micrograph of water immersed hemp/UPE samples showing eects of voids (a) voids, (b) voids acting as reservoirs and (c) matrix cracking and delamination after 888 h of immersion.

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140 120
Dry sample

H.N. Dhakal et al. / Composites Science and Technology xxx (2006) xxxxxx
Water immersed sample

100 80 60 40 20 0 UPE 0.1 0.15 0.21 0.26

Fibre volume fraction

Fig. 11. Flexural stress versus bre volume fraction.

30 25

Dry sample

water immersed sample

Flexural strain (%)

acteristics of water immersed specimens are inuenced not only by the nature of the bre and matrix materials but also by the relative humidity and manufacturing technique, which determines factors such as porosity and volume fraction of bres. Water uptake can be advantageous for some natural bres (such as Duralin bre) at 66% relative humidity as can bre plasticising eect as a result of from the presence of free water [41]. Excessive water absorption, however, leads to an increase in the absorbed bound water and a decrease in free water. In this situation, water can penetrate into the cellulose network of the bre and into the capillaries and spaces between the brils and less bound areas of the brils. Water may attach itself by chemical links to groups in the cellulose molecules. The rigidity of the cellulose structure is destroyed by the water molecules in the cellulose network structure in which water acts as a plasticiser and it permits cellulose molecules to move freely. Consequently the mass of the cellulose is softened and can change the dimensions of the bre easily with the application of forces. Observation of the fracture surface from the exural test sample further emphasises the importance of brematrix adhesion on exural strength. 3.2.3. Inuence of moisture on the modulus Table 4 represents the results of tensile modulus and exural modulus for both dry and water-immersed specimens at RT. It can be seen that moisture absorption causes change in the modulus as determined by tensile and exural tests. The tensile modulus decreases for all hemp reinforced samples. The reduction in tensile modulus for 3, 4 and 5 layer hemp reinforced specimens compared to dry specimens is 61, 97 and 87%, respectively. A plausible explanation for this would be that, the elastic modulus is a bresensitive property in composites and is aected as a result of moisture absorption. This eect is particularly greater for the composites with higher bre content, in which stress transfer capability between bre and matrix interface gets sharply reduced due to moisture content. The exural modulus, however, is not adversely aected by moisture absorption. The increase in exural modulus is more pronounced with higher bre content specimens, hence higher moisture content. It would be intuitive to assume that the eect of bre reinforcement to be less critical for the exural failure stress than in tensile failure
Table 4 Tensile and exural modulus for dry and wet samples Specimens Fibre volume (%) 0 10 15 21 26 Tensile modulus (GPa) Dry 0.56 0.72 1.0 1.22 1.27 Wet 0.60 0.64 0.62 0.62 0.68 Flexural modulus (GPa) Dry 5.51 4.20 5.34 7.30 6.49 Wet 5.81 5.76 6.08 6.06 8.05

Flexural stress (MPa)

20 15 10 5 0 UPE 0.1 0.15 0.21 0.26

Fibre volume fraction

Fig. 12. Flexural strain versus bre volume fraction.

increase of the maximum strain for the composites after water absorption [37]. The decrease in mechanical properties with increase in moisture content is may be caused by the formation of hydrogen bonding between the water molecules and cellulose bre. Natural bres are hydrophilic with many hydroxyl groups (OH) in the bre structure forming a large number of hydrogen bonds between the macromolecules of the cellulose and polymer [38]. With the presence of a high OH group percentage, natural bres such as hemp tend to show low moisture resistance. This leads to dimensional variation of composites products and poor interfacial bonding between the bre and matrix, causes a decrease in the mechanical properties [39]. Water absorbed in polymers is generally divided into free water and bound water. Water molecules (which are contained in the free volume of polymer and are relatively free to travel through the micro voids and holes) are identied as free water. Water molecules that are dispersed in the polymermatrix and attached to the polar groups of the polymer are designated as bound water [40]. The char-

UPE only 2 Layer hemp 3 Layer hemp 4 Layer hemp 5 Layer hemp

Data in table are means with a sample size of 5 for dry and 3 for wet for each specimen group.

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mode. This is because the exural samples fail in combination of compression, shear and tension mode. 4. Conclusions The eect of water absorption on the mechanical properties of non-woven hemp bre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites has been studied following immersion at room temperature and boiling temperature. It shows that moisture uptake increase with bre volume fraction increases due to increased voids and cellulose content. The water absorption pattern of these composites at room temperature is found to follow Fickian behaviour, whereas at the elevated temperature the absorption behaviour is non-Fickian. Water uptake behaviour is radically altered at elevated temperatures due to signicant moisture induced degradation. Exposure to moisture results in signicant drops in tensile and exural properties due to the degradation of the brematrix interface. References
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