Natural fiber textile reinforced bio-based composites: Mechanical properties, creep, and environmental impacts

With rising demand for construction materials, so too grow the environmental impacts associated with their production. This trend has raised interest in the development of bio-based composites as environmentally favorable alternatives to conventional materials. Yet, a greater understanding is needed of both the mechanical properties of bio-based composites and their long-term properties, particularly their creep deformation. This work examines the use of a bio-derived polymer matrix reinforced with three types of natural fiber textiles. The mechanical properties and the creep deformation of these composites are characterized showing a dependence on textile type and orientation. Application of time-stress superposition to capture creep behavior through accelerated testing is examined and is shown to be a promising means of capturing long-term creep deformation. The results of this work show that the textile reinforced bio-based composites studied have similar mechanical properties to several conventional construction materials. Further, because time-stress superposition is shown to capture creep behavior of most of the composites studied, this method might prove to be a means for expediting the collection and analysis of creep data for bio-based composites. Finally, combined comparisons of mechanical properties and environmental impacts of these bio-based composites suggest these materials could offer environmentally favorable alternatives to conventional materials.