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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2015, 4(4): 272-281 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-015-0161-1
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 25 September 2015

Characterisation of mechanical and thermal properties in flax fabric reinforced geopolymer composites

Show Author's Information Hasan ASSAEDIa,  Thamer ALOMAYRIa,  Faiz U. A. SHAIKHb,  It-Meng LOWa,c( )
Department of Imaging & Applied Physics, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Department of Civil Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Department of Engineering, Curtin College, Building 205, Curtin University Bentley Campus, Kent Street, Perth, Western Australia 6102, Australia
Keywords:
mechanical properties, thermal properties, geopolymer composites, flax fibre
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ASSAEDI H, ALOMAYRI T, SHAIKH FUA, et al. Characterisation of mechanical and thermal properties in flax fabric reinforced geopolymer composites. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2015, 4(4): 272-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-015-0161-1
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Abstract Full text About this article

This paper presents the mechanical and thermal properties of flax fabric reinforced fly ash based geopolymer composites. Geopolymer composites reinforced with 2.4, 3.0 and 4.1 wt% woven flax fabric in various layers were fabricated using a hand lay-up technique and tested for mechanical properties such as flexural strength, flexural modulus, compressive strength, hardness, and fracture toughness. All mechanical properties were improved by increasing the flax fibre contents, and showed superior mechanical properties over a pure geopolymer matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies were carried out to evaluate the composition and fracture surfaces of geopolymer and geopolymer/flax composites. The thermal behaviour of composites was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the results showed significant degradation of flax fibres at 300 ℃.


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About this article

Characterisation of mechanical and thermal properties in flax fabric reinforced geopolymer composites

Show Author's information Hasan ASSAEDIa, Thamer ALOMAYRIa, Faiz U. A. SHAIKHb, It-Meng LOWa,c( )
Department of Imaging & Applied Physics, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Department of Civil Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Department of Engineering, Curtin College, Building 205, Curtin University Bentley Campus, Kent Street, Perth, Western Australia 6102, Australia

Abstract

This paper presents the mechanical and thermal properties of flax fabric reinforced fly ash based geopolymer composites. Geopolymer composites reinforced with 2.4, 3.0 and 4.1 wt% woven flax fabric in various layers were fabricated using a hand lay-up technique and tested for mechanical properties such as flexural strength, flexural modulus, compressive strength, hardness, and fracture toughness. All mechanical properties were improved by increasing the flax fibre contents, and showed superior mechanical properties over a pure geopolymer matrix. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies were carried out to evaluate the composition and fracture surfaces of geopolymer and geopolymer/flax composites. The thermal behaviour of composites was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the results showed significant degradation of flax fibres at 300 ℃.

Keywords: mechanical properties, thermal properties, geopolymer composites, flax fibre

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements
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Publication history

Received: 19 February 2015
Revised: 17 June 2015
Accepted: 18 June 2015
Published: 25 September 2015
Issue date: April 2015

Copyright

© The author(s) 2015

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ms. E. Miller from the Department of Applied Physics at Curtin University for her assistance with the SEM. The authors would also thank Mr. Les Vickers of Applied Physics and Mr. Andrew Chan of Chemical Engineering at Curtin University for the help with the TGA.

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.

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