Mechanical Investigation of Hemp Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene with Different Types of MAPP Compatibilizer

Abstract

Mechanical properties of hemp fiber reinforced polypropylene were investigated. Hemp fibers were carded together with polypropylene fibers, and needle punched. Composites were prepared by hot pressing of the PP/hemp mats. Hemp content was varied between 0 and 50 % by weight, in 10% steps. A treatment with two different maleic anhydride grafted polypropylenes was applied in order to increase the fiber/matrix surface adhesion. Tensile, three-point bending and Charpy tests were carried out on the treated and untreated composites.

Brief History of Fiber Reinforced Polymers as Structural Material

“…Common application topics include cars, airplanes, turbines and mechanical components, biodegradable implants, sports and leisure products and civil engineering applications. In addition, many publications have been published on the topic of recyclability of polymers and composites and degradable materials in recent decades (Czigány et al, 2005;Geier et al, 2022;Mezey and Czigány, 2007;Ronkay et al, 2021). In the civil industry a book was published on structures made entirely of composites (Kollár and Springer, 2003).…”