Effect of Textile Architecture on the Durability of Flax Textile-Reinforced Mortars

This paper presents the preliminary results of an experimental programme on the tensile performance of flax-TRM systems subjected to accelerated ageing. Two layers of flax textiles of different architecture were embedded in a lime-based mortar and were conditioned in water for 2000h (~83 days), at controlled temperatures of 23oC and 40oC. Bare textiles were also conditioned in a lime solution for the same duration and temperature conditions to assess and decouple the deterioration mechanisms at the textile and composite scale. Both unconditioned and aged textiles and composites were subjected to direct tensile tests. The results show that the textile architecture affected primarily the short-term mechanical properties and the degree of composite action that can be achieved. Exposure to harsher environments resulted in similar strength retention rates for both textile types and equal to 60-70%, while the composite performance was found to be mainly affected by degradation mechanisms occurring at the textile reinforcement level, which may reduce the effective reinforcement ratio below critical values.