EFFECT OF WATER ABSORPTION ON THE DURABILITY OF HEMP COMPOSITES

Plant fibers from wood and agricultural crops like flax and hemp are renewable materials those have a potential for creating "green" products and replacing fossil hydrocarbon materials harmful for the environment. Industrial hemp (Cannabis Saliva) is an extraordinary non-toxic, non-narcotic plant and has been used for a wide variety of applications. Hemp contains cellulose fibers and a woody material called shives. In Europe, hemp shives and fibers are increasingly being used in a range of products like textiles, paper and building materials. In this paper are presented the results of experimental study of water absorption test conducted by immersing hemp composites as well as original hemp shives in a de-ionised water bath during different time durations. Physico-mechanical and physico-chemical properties of composites were evaluated and compared with original dry composite specimens.