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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mater.
Sec. Polymeric and Composite Materials
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmats.2024.1422813
This article is part of the Research Topic Multiscale Investigation of Soft Materials in Various Engineering Areas View all 3 articles

Multiscale Micromechanics Modeling of Viscoelastic Natural Plant Fibers

Provisionally accepted
Jie Li Jie Li 1*Jian Wang Jian Wang 2*Miao Wang Miao Wang 1*Jin x. Tie Jin x. Tie 1*Xue F. Gao Xue F. Gao 1*Yu J. Wu Yu J. Wu 1*Chen Xia Chen Xia 1*
  • 1 China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
  • 2 College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Natural plant fibers are hierarchical structures with microstructural constituents at various scales. With advancements in composite material science, these fibers are widely used in various polymer products. Therefore, it is crucial to quantitatively understand the relationship between their microstructures and mechanical behavior. This paper utilizes the Mori-Tanaka micromechanics model, viscoelasticity theory, and Zakian's inversion method to examine the impact of plant fiber microstructure on the viscoelastic behavior of multiscale structures. At the microscopic scale, macromolecule polymer (matrix) and cellulose (fiber) are homogenized, with a second homogenization involving the cell wall microstructure. The third homogenization considers the cell wall and lumen porosity to predict effective moduli of fiber bundle cells. Using the principle of elastic-viscoelastic correspondence, this study calculated the viscoelastic mechanical parameters of plant fibers. It also examined the effects of cellulose crystallinity and lumen porosity on fiber structural stiffness and viscoelastic properties, identifying these as key factors in the mechanical behavior of plant fibers. Due to their significant economic potential, the feasibility of using tobacco plant fibers as bio-based materials is being explored.

    Keywords: Natural plant fibers1, hierarchical structure2, Micromechanics and homogenization3, Mori-Tanaka Model4, Zakian Inversion5, Viscoelastic Behavior6, Tobacco leaves7

    Received: 24 Apr 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Wang, Wang, Tie, Gao, Wu and Xia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jie Li, China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
    Jian Wang, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
    Miao Wang, China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
    Jin x. Tie, China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
    Xue F. Gao, China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
    Yu J. Wu, China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China
    Chen Xia, China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.