Modelling of volumetric composition and mechanical properties of unidirectional hemp/epoxy composites - Effect of enzymatic fibre treatment

The objective of the present study is to assess the effect of enzymatic fibre treatments on the fibre performance in unidirectional hemp/epoxy composites by modelling the volumetric composition and mechanical properties of the composites. It is shown that the applied models can well predict the changes in volumetric composition and mechanical properties of the composites when differently treated hemp fibres are used. The decrease in the fibre correlated porosity factor with the enzymatic fibre treatments shows that the removal of pectin by pectinolytic enzymes results in a better fibre impregnation by the epoxy matrix, and the mechanical properties of the composites are thereby increased. The effective fibre stiffness and strength established from the modelling show that the enzymatic removal of pectin also leads to increased mechanical properties of the fibres. Among the investigated samples, the composites with hydrothermally pre-treated and enzymatically treated fibres have the lowest porosity factor of 0.08 and the highest mechanical properties. In these composites, the effective fibre stiffness and strength are determined to be 83 GPa and 667 MPa, respectively, when the porosity efficiency exponent is set equal to 2. Altogether, it is demonstrated that the applied models provide a concept to be used for the evaluation of performance of treated fibres in composites.