Influence of moisture and drying on fatigue damage mechanisms in a woven hemp/epoxy composite: Acoustic emission and micro-CT analysis

For the last 20 years, plant fibres have emerged as an alternative to glass fibres in composites. However, a crucial issue with plant fibre composites is their durability, i.e. their long-term hygrothermal and fatigue performances. This study deals with the influence of different conditionings (Ambient, Wet and Wet/dry) on the fatigue behaviour of [(+/- 45)](7) hemp/epoxy composites. The induced damage mechanisms are investigated by acoustic emission and micro-CT. Results show that the Wet samples exhibit the lowest fatigue sensitivity despite their greatest damage quantity, whereas the Wet/dry specimens behave like pre-damaged Ambient ones. Micro-CT scans show that the same type of damage appears in all cases: cracks are made of a coalescence of partial debondings at hemp yarn/matrix interfaces, which can lead to macro-cracks crossing the sample thickness. Moreover it is demonstrated that, during fatigue tests, the evolution of cumulative AE energy and hysteresis loop energy, and the evolution of damage quantity measured by micro-CT and final hysteresis energy, are very similar whatever the conditioning.