Development and weatherability of bio-based composites of structural quality using flax fiber and epoxidized sucrose soyate

Composites having high bio-based content with properties and costs rivaling those consisting of synthetic constituents are a goal of much current research. The obviousmaterial choices -vegetable oil based resins and natural fibers -present the challenges of poor resin properties and weak fiber/matrix bonding, respectively. Conventional methods of overcoming poor resin quality involve the incorporation of additives, which dilute the resulting composite's bio-content and increases cost. To overcome these limitations while maintaining high bio-content, in this study, a newly developed biobased resin, epoxidized sucrose soyate (ESS), is combined with surface-treated flax fiber to produce novel bio-composites. Properties of manufactured composites were compared against those using epoxy resin reinforced with flax fiber. In addition to mechanical property evaluation, accelerated weathering was performed on the manufactured composites to evaluate the mechanical properties after exposing to UV and moisture. The results of this study revealed the successful production of biocomposites having properties that meet or exceed those of conventional pultruded members while having 85% bio-content. Moreover, composites using treated flax fiber and ESS resin showed less degradation in properties and appearance after accelerated weathering exposure. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.