Flax/polypropylene weft knitted composites preform and the mechanical properties

For developing new ways of producing environmentally protective textile composites for civil use,the flax/polypropylene(PP) composite samples was made with polypropylene as substrate and flax as reinforcing material on a flat machine.The mechanical properties of the samples such as the tensile strength,elastic recovery and bursting strength were tested and affecting factors were analyzed.The research shows that it is effective to improve its knitability by mix-knitting with the flax and PP.The samples have better tensile strength,elastic recovery and bursting strength when the volume fraction of flax/PP fiber is 50∶50.In respect of the tensile strength and bursting strength,the sample of full gauge rib stitch is advantageous over that of rib stitch,and vice versa in respect of elastic recovery.The sinker depth directly influences the mechanical properties of the flax/PP knitted samples,and it is recommended that sinker depth be small.