Thermoplastic Composites with Cellulose Bast-Fibre

The composites prepared used polypropylene and flax fibres that were formed into a non-woven mat. Consolidation of the mat was by melting the polypropylene fibres using compression molding. Mechanical properties, particularly impact resistance were dependent mostly on consolidation of the surface regions. Thus partial consolidation, where the interior contained many voids, gave a low density composite with suitable performance. The strength of the surface layers was optimized by choice of fibre diameter, the felting operation and the time-temperature-pressure of the compression molding. The prepared polypropylene composite sheets were suited to thermoforming into shapes as required for products. Wetting and adhesion between polypropylene and flax was evident in scanning electron and polarized optical micrographs.