Extraction and physicomechanical characterisation of Typha Australis fibres: Sensitivity to a location in the plant

Abstract

Typha Australis is a problematic invasive plant in Senegal. This study aims to promote the valorization of this plant in the field of biocomposites for furniture, door panels or automobiles. Thus, Typha Australis fibers obtained by manual extraction with plastic comb are subdivided into three zones: top, middle, and bottom. Physicomechanical properties such as density, water content, tensile strength and Young’s modulus are measured. The results show an average density of 1.53 g/cm3 in the three zones, the same order of magnitude as lignocellulosic fibers. The water content of the different fibers obtained is between 6% and 10%. To determine mechanical properties, a tomographic analysis is performed for each fiber to accurately know the section at any point before the tensile test. Of the three studied areas, the middle fiber shows the best mechanical characteristics with a maximum stress of 103.5 MPa, elongation at break of 0.5% and Young’s modulus of 5.6 GPa. These results are promising as they show a lightweight material with better values in its middle part that can be effectively used as reinforcement.

Keywords

• typha australis fibers
• physicomechanical characterization
• location in the plant
• manual extractio
• plastic comb