Experimental study of flax fabric-reinforced epoxy pipes subjected to internal pressure

Abstract The substitution of flax fibre for synthetic fibres in fibre-reinforced polymers used in the construction industry is considered as an effective step towards achieving further sustainability in construction, with a major motivation for the implementation of flax fibre being its greater mechanical and physical attributes when compared to other natural fibres. Thirty-three pipes were manufactured using flax fabric-reinforced epoxy (FFRE), with the pipes having varying diameters and numbers of flax fabric layers, and internal pressure testing was conducted on these FFRE pipes to find the effect of diameter and number of flax fabric layers on pipe strains associated with pipe leakage and bursting. It was established that the internal pressure associated with pipe leakage and pipe bursting exceeded the typical pipe pressure range for domestic use, for water distribution, and for long-distance water transmission by a wide margin based on current practice, demonstrating a substantial potential for FFRE pipe application.