Application of Design of Experiment (DoE) for Parameters Optimization in Compression Moulding for Flax Reinforced Biocomposites

Lately, widespread research on polymer composites that consist of natural fiber as reinforcement have been widely discussed. In this work, an attempt on optimizing the hot press forming process parameters using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) have been made to improve the mechanical properties of the woven flax/PLA composites. Three independent process variables, including moulding temperature, time and pressure were studied. Through the Box Behnken approach, a set of experiment runs based on various combination of compression moulding via Minitab 16 were established. As a results the optimum value for the variables of compression moulding technique parameters were 200 °C, 3 min and 30 bar in order to yield 48.902 kJ/m-2ofimpact strength.