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Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour

Feras Korkees Orcid Logo, ALISON SHARRATT, Mazen Alqathami

Materials Letters, Volume: 406, Start page: 139847

Swansea University Authors: Feras Korkees Orcid Logo, ALISON SHARRATT

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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.matlet.2025.139847

Abstract

The growing demand for high-performance yet sustainable composites highlights the need to replace synthetic composites and energy-intensive processing with more efficient alternatives. However, limited research has been conducted on how out-of-autoclave (OOA) fabrication affects the durability of th...

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Published in: Materials Letters
ISSN: 0167-577X 1873-4979
Published: Elsevier BV 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71031
first_indexed 2025-12-01T12:42:10Z
last_indexed 2025-12-20T05:28:49Z
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spelling 2025-12-19T13:12:24.8491684 v2 71031 2025-12-01 Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour 4d34f40e38537261da3ad49a0dd2be09 0000-0002-5131-6027 Feras Korkees Feras Korkees true false 49cdf0083085d778cc96a6c3401dbd40 ALISON SHARRATT ALISON SHARRATT true false 2025-12-01 EAAS The growing demand for high-performance yet sustainable composites highlights the need to replace synthetic composites and energy-intensive processing with more efficient alternatives. However, limited research has been conducted on how out-of-autoclave (OOA) fabrication affects the durability of the natural/synthetic hybrid composites under hygrothermal ageing. This study examines the ageing behaviour of flax/carbon fibre hybrids fabricated using a vacuum-assisted oven-curing process, focusing on moisture diffusion, swelling, and flexural response. Hybridisation reduced diffusion coefficients under hot-wet conditions by 76–96 % and swelling by up to 80 % compared with flax composites. It also enhanced flexural strength and stiffness up to 200 %. The hybrids retained 60–80 % of their flexural strength and 70–90 % of their stiffness after 23, 45, 70 °C water exposure, confirming the effectiveness of the carbon layers in limiting water-induced deformation and preserving interfacial integrity. Journal Article Materials Letters 406 139847 Elsevier BV 0167-577X 1873-4979 Out-of-autoclave processing; Hybrid flax/carbon composites; Moisture-absorption; Swelling; Flexural strength 1 3 2026 2026-03-01 10.1016/j.matlet.2025.139847 COLLEGE NANME Engineering and Applied Sciences School COLLEGE CODE EAAS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) Swansea University 2025-12-19T13:12:24.8491684 2025-12-01T12:39:20.3570997 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering Feras Korkees 0000-0002-5131-6027 1 ALISON SHARRATT 2 Mazen Alqathami 3 71031__35871__260a367ecf4b436699d02d338b797b9d.pdf 71031.VOR.pdf 2025-12-19T13:10:18.7313379 Output 2656201 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour
spellingShingle Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour
Feras Korkees
ALISON SHARRATT
title_short Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour
title_full Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour
title_fullStr Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour
title_full_unstemmed Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour
title_sort Ageing of out-of-autoclaved hybrid flax/carbon fibre composites: effects on water absorption and flexural behaviour
author_id_str_mv 4d34f40e38537261da3ad49a0dd2be09
49cdf0083085d778cc96a6c3401dbd40
author_id_fullname_str_mv 4d34f40e38537261da3ad49a0dd2be09_***_Feras Korkees
49cdf0083085d778cc96a6c3401dbd40_***_ALISON SHARRATT
author Feras Korkees
ALISON SHARRATT
author2 Feras Korkees
ALISON SHARRATT
Mazen Alqathami
format Journal article
container_title Materials Letters
container_volume 406
container_start_page 139847
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 0167-577X
1873-4979
doi_str_mv 10.1016/j.matlet.2025.139847
publisher Elsevier BV
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Engineering and Applied Sciences - Materials Science and Engineering
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description The growing demand for high-performance yet sustainable composites highlights the need to replace synthetic composites and energy-intensive processing with more efficient alternatives. However, limited research has been conducted on how out-of-autoclave (OOA) fabrication affects the durability of the natural/synthetic hybrid composites under hygrothermal ageing. This study examines the ageing behaviour of flax/carbon fibre hybrids fabricated using a vacuum-assisted oven-curing process, focusing on moisture diffusion, swelling, and flexural response. Hybridisation reduced diffusion coefficients under hot-wet conditions by 76–96 % and swelling by up to 80 % compared with flax composites. It also enhanced flexural strength and stiffness up to 200 %. The hybrids retained 60–80 % of their flexural strength and 70–90 % of their stiffness after 23, 45, 70 °C water exposure, confirming the effectiveness of the carbon layers in limiting water-induced deformation and preserving interfacial integrity.
published_date 2026-03-01T05:34:15Z
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score 11.096068

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