The study is focused on the water diffusion phenomenon through the Raffia vinifera fibre from the stem. The knowledge on the behavior of those fibres in presence of liquid during the realization of biocomposite, is necessary. The parameters like percentage of water gain at the point of saturation, modelling of the kinetic of water absorption, and the effective diffusion coefficient were the main objectives. Along a stem of raffia, twelve zones of sampling were defined. From Fick's 2nd law of diffusion, a new model was proposed and evaluated compared to four other models at a constant temperature of 23°C. From the proposed model, the effective diffusion coefficient was deduced. The percentage of water gain was in the range of 303–662%. The proposed model fitted better to the experimental data. The estimated diffusion coefficient was evaluated during the initial phase and at the final phase. In any cross section located along the stem of Raffia vinifera, it was found that the effective diffusion coefficient increases from the periphery to the centre during the initial and final phases.

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This work focuses on the assessment of oil palm mesocarp fibers as reinforcement in a composite material with an unsaturated polyester matrix. Several volume ratios of OPMF reinforcement (0 to 15%) were used, the fibers being distributed randomly. The resulting composite was characterized on the physical and mechanical aspects. Physically, the true and apparent densities were determined as well as the porosity rate. It appears that the addition of fibers further lightens the composite and increases the porosity. The water absorption rate of the different composites samples was evaluated. The more fibers the composite contains, the higher its water absorption rate. On the mechanical aspect, the bending modulus of elasticity, bending stress at break, and breaking strain were evaluated through a three-point bending test on all combinations. The same parameters were also evaluated for certain combinations by a unidirectional tensile test. It appears from this mechanical characterization that the volume fraction of 5% reinforcement has the highest specific modulus. Impact tests were performed on samples of this combination using several sizes of reinforcing fibers. Impact resistance is enhanced as the size of the inclusion increases. The Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model for randomly distributed short fiber composites was used for the inverse approach determination of the theoretical moduli of the matrix and OPMF, then in a direct approach to determine the elastic modulus of the composite at 7.5% reinforcement.

The aim of this work was to develop and characterize a polyester matrix composite material based on Canarium schweinfurthii Engl core granule. The particle size and the mass fractions of these cores used as fillers in this composite were the two optimization parameters. The experimentation of the twelve sample areas was based on the following optimization parameters: Three particles sizes of 80 < T 1 < 160 µm, 160 < T 2 < 315 µm and 315 < T 3 < 630 µm and four mass fractions of 0%, 40%, 45% and 50%. The composites were produced by hand lay-up method. The physical and mechanical parameters concerned by this study are: absolute density, compressive stress at break, Young's modulus in bending and coefficient of static friction with wood. Each of these parameters was determined by testing ten specimens per sampling area. It was found that the absolute density varies very little as a function of particle size and mass fraction. This absolute density is between 1200 and 1232 kg·m −3 , which allows us to admit that this composite belongs to the family of light materials. The maximum compressive stress at break was obtained for the formulation 40% filler of size T 3 . This compressive stress at maximum rupture is in the range of 199.14 MPa. From 0% to 45% of filler, the flexural Young's modulus of the composite increases whatever the particle size. The highest value is obtained for T 2 particle size, i.e. 13.11 GPa. The static friction coefficient of the composite on wood increases as the filler con-How to cite this paper: Ndapeu