Investigation of new Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/Poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) thermoplastic composites reinforced with different amount of twill hemp fabrics

Although the adoption of thermoplastic biobased matrix is growing pushed up by environmental issues, the coupling of a Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/Poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) blend with hemp fabrics has never been studied. The aim of the present work is to investigate the performance of novel thermoplastic composites reinforced with diferent amounts of twill hemp fabrics. The efect of diferent volume fbre content was analysed by tensile, fexural, impact and HDT tests. Analytical predictive models were also applied to forecast the tensile and fexural properties of the biocomposites, paying atention to role of the fbres in warp and weft direction in determining the fnal mechanical properties of the composites. To beter compare the results obtained with the existing composites reinforced with hemp fabrics, a merit index was also calculated to evaluate the efciency reached by these new composites in terms of stifness and lightweight.