INFLUENCE OF HEATING TIME DURING MOLTEN STATE TESTING OF FLAX/PP COMPOSITES USING THE BIAS EXTENSION TEST

This study examines the effect of heating time on the stress distribution of flax fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites during a bias extension test. A new fixture was designed and manufactured to facilitate the preheating of the oven prior to placing the sample. A finite element model was also developed to simulate the test and compute the stress distribution. Several tests were conducted, including differential scanning calorimetry, thermal tests, and thermo-mechanical bias extension experiments. The thermo-mechanical tests were performed with and without preheating to compare the preheating effect on the test results, and it is shown that the heating time significantly affects the stress distribution.