Thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetric analysis of natural fibres and polypropylene

The thermal behaviour of variably separated flax and hemp fibres was charac terised by means of thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetri c analyses. Reference measurements of cellulose served to describe the degr adation behaviour. Furthermore, thermoanalytic investigations on polypropyl ene were carried out to evaluate the thermal stability and the respective a ctivation energy of the materials. The results prove the thermal stability necessary for the consolidation process of composite materials. (C) 1999 El sevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.