Effects of Manufacturing Technology on the Mechanical Properties of Alfa Fiber Non-woven Reinforced PMMA Composites

Mechanical properties of nonwoven alfa fiber based reinforced biocomposite were evaluated to assess the possibility of using it as a new material in engineering applications such as orthopedic application. Samples were fabricated by needle punching, thermal bonding and Hydroentanglement, by blending alfa fibers with wool fibers or Polypropylene fibers. The mechanical properties were tested and showed that the nonwoven NW3 (alfa fiber/PP/PLA, with hydroentanglement) is the best. It has a value of stress at break of 1.94 MPa, a strain of 54.2% and a young's module of 7.95 MPa, in a production normal direction. A biocomposite has been made with NW3 mixed with PMMA matrix. The use of nonwoven based alfa fiber in reinforcing the composite material increases its rigidity and the tensile strength; the elongation was found to be 1.53%, the Young's Module of 1.79 GPa and the tensile at break of 15.06 MPa. Results indicated that alfa fibres are of interest for low- cost engineering applications and can compete with glass fibres in orthopedic application.