Viscoelastic and thermal behavior of woven hemp fiber reinforced poly(lactic acid) composites

This study examined the physical behavior of hemp/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites, particularly the thermal properties and viscoelastic behavior. Twill and plain woven hemp fabrics were used as reinforcements and hemp fabrics-reinforced PLA composites were produced using a film stacking method. The coefficient of thermal expansion of the composites decreased sharply with increasing the volume fraction of fiber. The twill structure was found to be suitable for reinforcing a PLA resin with higher impact strength and better mechanical properties than the plain woven. The viscoelastic properties of the composites including the storage modulus, loss modulus and loss tangent were also examined by dynamic mechanical analysis. In addition, morphological analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy.