Study of Elastic Behavior of Polylactic Acid with Yanchama Fibers Composite Simulated as Elastic Orthotropic Material

Abstract

A new biocomposite material based on polylactic acid (PLA) with meshes of Yanchama fibers is introduced. This bio-based composite was fabricated by compression molding and film-staking process. This new biocomposite material was tested by tensile tests in different directions and was numerically simulated. The composite was simulated as an elastic orthotropic material. The nine constants of elastic orthotropic behavior are calculated from modules of Young measured experimentally. The experiment results and simulations are the same. The results show that the mechanical behavior of the PLA-Yanchama composite under different load solicitudes can be predicted if it is simulated as an orthotropic elastic material.

Keywords

• composite
• polylactic acid
• yanchama
• finite element method
• elastic orthotropic