Effect of organic clay modified flax fiber on mechanical properties and interfacial properties of fiber/epoxy polymer composites

Recently, there has been growing concern about natural fiber reinforced polymer because of its light weight, renewability, and environmental friendliness compared to the traditional fiber reinforced polymer such as CFRP, GFRP, and BFRP. However, the use of natural fiber has been greatly limited because of its lower fiber strength and weaker bond strength of fiber/epoxy. To improve these defects, a method of modifying flax fiber by organic clay was provided in this paper. The tensile test showed that tensile strength of the FFRP which was modified by 0.7% organic clay was 15.7% higher than that of the untreated fiber. The weft three-point bending test showed that the interfacial properties improved after modification. In addition, the results of SEM images of flax fibers were also analyzed.