Bio-composite material

Abstract

The European Project Semester (EPS) is a programme offered by 13 European universities in 11 countries throughout Europe to students who have completed at least two years of study. It is a four-month program and it is a mixture of “Project Related Courses” and project organized/problem based learning. Project teams are of made of 3-6 students from different countries and different backgrounds, so EPS projects promote a multicultural and interdisciplinary teamwork. The main language is English but EPS students in Tarbes have also some French lessons. The main aim of the EPS is to improve the skills of the students in different fields like: team building, research strategy, project management, use of modern design tools and techniques, and English communication. Knowing other cultures and learning other languages are important aims too. The BioCom team is a student group consisting of 5 members, from 4 different countries currently participating in the European Project Semester program hosted in “Ecole Nationale d'Ingenieurs de Tarbes”. These individuals expressed the same interest in the project on “Investigation of fully-biomaterials: association of a bio-based thermosetting resin and vegetable fibres“. Supported by the AGROMAT experts, the team must produce a new bio-composite material made of jute woven fibres and a bio-thermosetting resin matrix that has better mechanical properties than the green-resin itself. The following document contains the work process & results the team has been developing & gaining for the last 4 months, including the Project Management, Research on Resins, preparation of Samples Production & Tests. The final green-resin choice was influenced by the obtained results during the conducted market investigation, to know what’s out there and what’s available within the requested criteria. For the great support, insightful advices during the last months we would like to express our gratuity to our client, Mr. Philippe Evon, technical supervisor, Mrs. Helene Welemane, management supervisor, Mr. Paul-Etienne Vidal, and the expert in polymers, Mrs. France Chabert.