Hindawi Publishing Corporation Conference Papers in Materials Science Volume 2013, Article ID 136861, 6 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/136861 Conference Paper Impact Property of PLA/Flax Nonwoven Biocomposite Shah Alimuzzaman, 1 R. H. Gong, 1 and Mahmudul Akonda 2 1 Textiles and Paper, School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK 2 Tilsatec Advanced Materials, Tilsatec Ltd., Wakefeld WF2 9ND, UK Correspondence should be addressed to Shah Alimuzzaman; sazaman 2006@yahoo.com Received 25 June 2013; Accepted 28 August 2013 Academic Editors: R. Alagirusamy and H. Hong Tis Conference Paper is based on a presentation given by Shah Alimuzzaman at “International Conference on Natural Fibers— Sustainable Materials for Advanced Applications 2013” held from 9 June 2013 to 11 June 2013 in Guimar˜ aes, Portugal. Copyright © 2013 Shah Alimuzzaman et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Flax fbre reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) biocomposites were fabricated by using a new technique incorporating an air-laying nonwoven web forming process and compression moulding technologies. Te relationship between the main process variables and the properties of the biocomposite was investigated. Te results show that with the increasing of fax content, the notched Izod impact strength increased. Te maximum value of 28.3 KJ/m 2 was achieved at 60% fax fbre content. As the moulding temperature and moulding time increased, the impact strength decreased. Te physical properties of the biocomposites were also evaluated. As the fax fbre content increased, the void content of the biocomposites increased. Tis was further confrmed by the surface morphology of the composite material. Te appropriate processing parameters for the biocomposites were established. 1. Introduction Natural fbre-reinforced polymer composites are of great importance in the end-use applications [1–3]. Te combined behaviour of the stifness, elastic matrix, and strong fbrous reinforcement is achieved by these composites. Te devel- opments of fbre reinforced composites have made materials that are stifer than steel and harder than aluminium available [4]. Natural fbres and their composites ofer environmental advantages such as lower pollutant emissions and lower greenhouse gas emissions. During the last few years, many conventional materials are replaced by polymer based materi- als in various applications. Te productivity, ease of process- ing, and cost reduction are the most signifcant advantages which the polymers ofer over other traditional materials [5– 7]. Biocomposites are widely used for automotive interior parts, structural parts, and interior and exterior decoration materials [8]. Biodegradable composites are becoming more popular due to their low cost and low density, and also because of the increase in oil price and recycling and environment necessities. In this project, PLA is used as a matrix, and fax fbre is used as a reinforcing material. PLA is a synthetic aliphatic polyester from renewable agriculture products; it is biodegradable and with properties comparable to some fossil-oil-based polymers [9]. Flax fbres exhibit some unique mechanical properties. Baley [10] and Charlet et al. [11] showed that fax fbres can have mechanical properties greater than those of E-glass fbres. To make fbre reinforced composite materials, the flm stacking [12, 13], injection moulding [14, 15], and compression moulding [9, 15, 16] are the most widely used manufacturing methods. In the present study, the fax fbres were blended with staple PLA fbres to form a homogenous fbre mixture. Tis enhances the delamination resistance of composites made from flm stacking. Te mixed fbres were converted to fbre webs using an air-laying nonwoven process. A unique feature of air-laid nonwoven process is to produce the webs with isotropic fbre orientation distribution [17], leading to isotropic composites. Te fbre webs were thermally consol- idated before fnally converted to composites. Tis avoids any potential fbre damage caused by the widely used needle punching method for nonwoven composites [18, 19]. Te