Study on the Natural Fiber/pp Wrap Spun Yarns Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites

Composites made from yarns perform better than composites made from random nonwoven mats. However, the twist structure of conventional ring spun yarns prevents the full utilization of fiber mechanical properties in the final composites. We produced flax/pp wrap yarns in which all flax fibers were twistless. Composites made from the wrap yarn gave a significant improvement of flexural properties. Most natural fibers, such as decorticated hemp, cannot be efficiently made into yarns because of their lack of cohesion. Adding pp fibers to decorticated hemp improved textile processing performance. The pp fibers served as a carrier for the natural fibers during processing and became the polymer matrix in the final composites.