Effect of the low and radio frequency oxygen plasma treatment of jute fiber on mechanical properties of jute fiber/polyester composite

We investigated the surface modification of jute fiber by oxygen plasma treatments. Jute fibers were treated in different plasma reactors (radio frequency “RF” and low frequency “LF” plasma reactors) using O₂ for different plasma powers to increase the interface adhesion between jute fiber and polyester matrix. The influence of various plasma reactors on mechanical properties of jute fiber-reinforced polyester composites was reported. Tensile, flexure, short beam shear tests were used to determine the mechanical properties of the composites. The interlaminar shear strength increased from 11.5 MPa for the untreated jute fiber/polyester composite to 19.8 and 26.3 MPa for LF and RF oxygen plasma treated jute fiber/polyester composites, respectively. O₂ plasma treatment also improved the tensile and flexural strengths of jute fiber/ polyester composites for both plasma systems. It is clear that O₂ plasma treatment of jute fibers by using RF plasma system instead of using LF plasma system brings about greater improvement on the mechanical properties of jute/polyester composites.     

Effect of surface treatment of jute fibers on the interfacial adhesion in poly(lactic acid)/jute fiber biocomposites

Jute fibers have immense potential to be used as natural fillers in polymeric matrices to prepare biocomposites. In the present study jute fibers were surface treated using two methods: i) alkali (NaOH) and ii) alkali followed by silane (NaOH+Silane) separately. Effects of surface treatments on jute fibers surface were characterized using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. Further, the effects of surface treatments on jute fibers properties such as crystallinity index, thermal stability, and tensile properties were analyzed by X-ray diffraction method (XRD), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), and single fiber tensile test respectively. The effects of surface treatment of jute fibers on interphase adhesion between of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and jute fibers were analyzed by performing single fiber pull-out test and was examined in terms of interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and critical fiber length.     

Enhancement of the mechanical properties of glass/polyester composites via matrix modification glass/polyester composite siloxane matrix modification

Enhancement of the mechanical and vibrational properties of glass/polyester composites was aimed via matrix modification technique. To achieve this, unsaturated polyester was modified by incorporation of oligomeric siloxane in the concentration range of 1–3 wt%. Modified matrix composites reinforced with woven roving glass fabric were compared with untreated glass/polyester in terms of mechanical and interlaminar properties by conducting tensile, flexure, and short-beam shear tests. It was found that after incorporation of 3 % oligomeric siloxane into the polyester matrix, the tensile, flexural, and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) values of the resulting composite increased by 16, 15, and 75 %, respectively. The increases in ILSS as well as in tensile and flexural properties were considered to be an indication of better fiber/matrix interaction as confirmed by SEM fractography images. Furthermore, the effect of oligomeric siloxane incorporation on the vibrational properties of the composites was investigated by experimental modal testing and the natural frequencies of the composites were found to increase with increasing siloxane concentration.     

Impact of succinic anhydride on the properties of jute fiber/polypropylene biocomposites

Chemical treatment is an often-followed route to improve the physical and mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites. In this study, the effect of chemical treatment on physical and mechanical properties of jute fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) biocomposites with different fiber loading (5, 10, 15, and 20 wt%) were investigated. Before being manufactured jute fiber/PP composite, raw jute fiber was chemically treated with succinic anhydride for the chemical reaction with cellulose hydroxyl group of fiber and to increase adhesion and compatibility to the polymer matrix. Jute fiber/PP composites were fabricated using high voltage hot compression technique. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) tests were employed to evaluate the morphological properties of composite. Succinic anhydride underwent a chemical reaction with raw jute fiber which was confirmed through FTIR results. SEM micrographs of the fractured surface area were taken to study the fiber/matrix interface adhesion and compatibility. Reduced fiber agglomeration and improved interfacial bonding was observed under SEM in the case of treated jute fiber/PP composites. The mechanical properties of jute/PP composite in terms of Tensile strength and Young’s modulus was found to be increased with fiber loading up to 15 wt% and decreased at 20 wt%. Conversely, flexural strength and flexural modulus increased with fiber loading up to 10 wt% and start decreasing at 15 wt%. The treated jute/PP composite samples had higher hardness (Rockwell) and lower water absorption value compared to that of the untreated ones.     

Mechanical anisotropy in unidirectional glass fabric reinforced oligomeric siloxane modified polyester composites

In this study, the effect of incorporation of oligomeric siloxane into unsaturated polyester on mechanical behavior of unidirectional glass fiber/polyester composites has been investigated by means of tensile, flexural and short beam shear tests. The amount of oligomeric siloxane added into unsaturated polyester was in the range 1?C3 % by weight of the glass fabrics. Mechanical tests were conducted at different angles (0 °, 45 °, and 90 °) with respect to fiber direction. The higher siloxane content exhibited a tendency to have greater tensile, flexural and interlaminar shear strength values in machine direction, bias direction and cross direction. From Scanning electron microscopy images, the presence of polyester particles on the unidirectional glass fiber surface confirmed better adhesion.     

Matrix modification with silane coupling agent for carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites

To improve interfacial adhesion between carbon fiber and epoxy resin, the epoxy matrix is modified with N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane (YDH602) and N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (YDH792), respectively. And the effect of matrix modification on the mechanical performance of carbon/epoxy composites is investigated in terms of tensile, flexural and interlaminar properties. The flexural properties indicate that the optimum concentration of silane coupling agents YDH602 and YDH792 for the matrix modification is approximately 0.5 wt% of the epoxy resin system, and the mechanical properties of the YDH792-modified epoxy composites is better than that of the YDH602-modified epoxy composites at the same concentration. Compared to unmodified epoxy composite, the incorporation of 0.5 wt% YDH792 results in an increase of 4, 44 and 42 % in tensile, flexural and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) values of the carbon/epoxy composite, respectively, while the corresponding enhancement of tensile and flexural modulus is 3 and 15 %. These improvements in mechanical properties can be considered to be an indication of better fiber/matrix interfacial adhesion as confirmed by SEM micrographs of the fracture surface after interlaminar shear testing. The viscosity of the modified epoxy resin system can be reduced by incorporation of silane coupling agent YDH792, which is beneficial for fiber impregnation or wetting during liquid composite molding process.     

A study on mechanical,thermal and environmental degradation characteristics of N,N-dimethylaniline treated jute fabric-reinforced polypropylene composites

The mechanical and thermal behavior of compression molded jute/polypropylene (PP) composites were studied by evaluating tensile strength (TS), bending strength (BS), tensile modulus (TM), bending modulus (BM), impact strength (IS), thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). A chemical modification was made to jute fabrics using N,N-Dimethylaniline (DMA) in order to improve the interfacial adhesion between the fabrics and matrix. It was found that jute fabrics on treatment with N,N-Dimethylaniline (DMA) significantly improved the mechanical properties of the composites. Thermal analytical data of PP, both treated and untreated jute fabrics as well as composites revealed that DMA treatment increased the thermal stability of the fabrics and composite. DMA treatment also reduced the hydrophilic nature of the composite. DMA treated jute composite was found less degradable than control composite under water, soil and simulated weathering conditions.     

Hybrid effect in the mechanical properties of jute/rockwool hybrid fibres reinforced phenol formaldehyde composites

This research work was concerned with the evaluation of the effect of fibre content on the mechanical properties of composites. Composites were fabricated using jute/phenol formaldehyde (PF), rockwool/PF, and jute/rockwool hybrid PF with varying fibre loadings. Jute and rockwool fibre reinforced PF composites were fabricated with varying fibre loadings (16, 25, 34, 42, 50, and 60 vol.%). The jute/rockwool hybrid PF composites were manufactured at various ratios of jute/rockwool fibres such as 1:0, 0.92:0.08, 0.82:0.18, 0.70:0.30, 0.54:0.46, 0.28:0.72, and 0:1. Total fibre content of the hybrid composites was 42 vol.%. The results showed that tensile strength of the composite increased with increasing fibre content up to 42 vol.% over which it decreased for jute and rockwool fibre reinforced PF composites. Flexural strength of the composite was noted to peak at a fibre loading of 42 vol.% for jute/PF composites, and 34 vol.% for rockwool/PF composites. Impact strength of jute/PF composites increased with increasing fibre loading but that of rockwool/PF composites decreased at higher (>34 vol.%) fibre loadings. Tensile, flexural, and impact strengths of jute/PF composites were found to be higher than those of rockwool/PF composites. The maximum hardness values were obtained 42 vol.% for jute/PF composite, and 34 vol.% for rockwool/PF composite. Further increase in fibre loading adversely affected the hardness of both composites. For jute/rockwool hybrid PF composites, tensile and impact strengths decreased with increasing rockwool fibre loading. The maximum flexural strength of jute/rockwool hybrid PF composites was obtained at a 0.82:0.18 jute/rockwool fibre ratio while maximum hardness was observed at a 0.28:0.72 jute/rockwool fibre ratio. The fractured surfaces of the composites were analysed using scanning electron microscope in order to have an insight into the failure mechanism and fibre/matrix interface adhesion.     

Green composites from maleated castor oil and jute fibres

Castor oil was converted to maleated castor oil (MACO) without any catalyst. MACO was characterized with FTIR, NMR, molecular weight and viscosity measurement. Tung oil (20 wt%) was added to MACO as reactive diluent. Non-woven jute felts were used as reinforcing material. The MACO was polymerized and crosslinked in situ during composite fabrication. The curing behavior of MACO with free radical catalyst was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The MACO/jute composites were tested for their flexural properties, impact strength and dynamic mechanical properties and compared with similar unsaturated polyester resin/jute composites. The flexural moduli of both the composites were nearly similar. The impact strength of MACO/jute composites was 42% higher than that of UPE/jute composites. The damping property of the MACO/jute composites was higher than that of UPE/jute composites over a wide range of temperature.     

Preparation and characterization of jute fabrics reinforced urethane based thermoset composites: Effect of UV radiation

Jute fabrics reinforced thermoset composites were prepared with different formulations using urethane acrylate oligomer, methanol, and benzyl peroxide. Jute fabrics were soaked in the prepared formulations and fiber content in the composites was optimized with the extent of mechanical properties. Among all the resulting composites, 55 wt% jute content at oligomer:methanol:benzyl peroxide=75:24.5:0.5 (w/w/w) ratio showed best mechanical properties. The optimized jute fabrics were cured under UV radiation at different intensities and their mechanical properties were measured. Jute fabrics were treated with potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) solution of different concentrations (0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.05 wt%) for different soaking times (1–5 min) before the composite fabrication. Optimized jute fabrics (jute fabrics treated with 0.02 wt% KMnO₄ for 2 min soaking time) were soaked in the optimized formulation and cured under UV radiation at different intensities and measured their mechanical properties. Scanning electron microscopic investigation showed that surface modification improves fiber/matrix adhesion. Water uptake and soil degradation test of the treated and untreated composite samples were also performed.     

Effect of mercerization on mechanical, thermal and degradation characteristics of jute fabric-reinforced polypropylene composites

Jute fabric reinforced polypropylene composites were fabricated by compression molding technique. Fiber content in the composites was optimized at 45 % by weight of fiber by evaluating the mechanical parameters such as tensile strength, tensile modulus, bending strength, bending modulus. Surface treatment of jute fabrics was carried out by mercerizing jute fabrics with aqueous solutions of NaOH (5, 10 and 20 %) at different soaking times (30, 60 and 90 mins) and temperatures (0, 30 and 70 °C). The effect of mercerization on weight and dimension of jute fabrics was studied. Mechanical properties of mercerized jute-PP composites were measured and found highest at 20 % NaOH at 0 °C for 60 min soaking time. Thermal analytical data from thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis showed that mercerized jute-PP composite achieved higher thermal stability compared to PP, jute fabrics and control composite. Degradation characteristics of the composites were studied in soil, water and simulated weathering conditions. Water uptake of the composites was also investigated.     

Mechanical,thermal and interfacial properties of green composites from basalt and hybrid woven fabrics

Composites based on pure Basalt and Basalt/Jute fabrics were fabricated. The mechanical properties of the composites such as flexural modulus, tensile modulus and impact strength were measured depending upon weave, fiber contents and resin. Dynamic mechanical analysis of all composites were done. From the results it is found that pure basalt fiber combination maintains higher values in all mechanical tests. Thermo-gravimetric (TG/DTG) composites showed that thermal degradation temperatures of composites shifted to higher temperature regions compared to pure jute fabrics. Addition of basalt fiber improved the thermal stability of the composite considerably. Scanning electron microscopic images of tensile fractured composite samples illustrated that better fiber-matrix interfacial interaction occurred in hybrid composites. The thermal conductivity of composites are also investigated and thermal model is used to check their correlation.     

Tensile response and fracture and failure behavior of jute fabrics-flyash-vinylester hybrid composites

In this work, hybrid materials consisting on a vinylester matrix simultaneaously reinforced with jute woven fabrics and flyash particles were prepared. The tensile response and the fracture and failure behavior of these hybrid composites were investigated. Thermal stability of these materials was also studied. The aim was to obtain an environmentally friendly hybrid material with a good balance of tensile and fracture properties at relatively low cost. The effect of a novel treatment for the jute fabrics on the hybrids mechanical and fracture properties was investigated. The best balance of tensile and fracture properties was obtained for the hybrid consisting of fabrics treated with alkali under stress and fly ashes which also exhibited relatively high thermal stability.     

Influence of noncellulosic contents on nano scale refinement of waste jute fibers for reinforcement in polylactic acid films

In the present study, nanofibrils of cellulose are extracted from waste jute fibers using high energy planetary ball milling process in wet condition. The rate of refinement of untreated fibers having non-cellulosic contents was found slower than treated fibers due to strong holding of fiber bundles by non-cellulosic contents. At the end of three hours of wet milling, untreated fibers were refined to the size of 850 nm and treated fibers were refined to the size of 443 nm. In the subsequent stage, composite films of poly lactic acid (PLA) were prepared by solvent casting with 3 wt% loading of untreated jute nanofibrils, treated jute nanofibrils and microcrystalline cellulose. The influence of non-cellulosic contents on mechanical properties of PLA films are investigated based on results of tensile test, dynamic mechanical analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The maximum improvement was observed in case of treated jute nanofibril/PLA composite film where initial modulus and tensile strength increased by 207.69 % and 168.67 %, respectively as compared to neat PLA film. These improvements are attributed to the increased interaction of treated jute nanofibrils with PLA matrix due to their higher precentage of cellulosic contents and mechanically activated surface.     

Effect of the atmospheric plasma treatment parameters on surface and mechanical properties of jute fabric

Plasma treatment is a kind of environmentally friendly surface modification technology, which has been widely used to modify various materials in many industries. Plasma treatment improves the fiber-matrix adhesion largely by roughening the surface of fibers to increase mechanical interlocking between the fiber and the matrix. For this aim, the effect of atmospheric air plasma treatment on jute fabrics has been discussed in this study. The plasma treatment has been employed at different powers and time intervals. The effects of plasma treatment on fiber properties were revealed by wickability, surface roughness, fiber tensile test and pull-out tests. The effect of plasma treatment on functional groups of jute fibers was observed by attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed the etching effect of plasma treatment on the surface. It can be concluded that plasma treatment is an effective method to improve the surface and mechanical properties of jute fabrics to be used for composite materials.     

Low-temperature pyrolysis on jute fibers as a thermochemical modification method

Low-temperature pyrolysis up to 200, 250, 300 °C was conducted in order to remove non-cellulosic compounds without damaging the structure of the cellulose in jute fibers. The chemical, morphological, and mechanical aspects of prepared low-temperature pyrolyzed jute fibers were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, the wettability test in water/dichloromethane system, moisture content measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and tensile test using universal testing machine (UTM). It was confirmed that hydrophilic compounds including absorbed water, low molecular weight compounds such as waxes, hemicellulose, and lignin were largely removed from the fibers. Increasing amounts of non-cellulosic compounds were removed as the maximum pyrolysis temperature was increased. The degree of hydrophilic nature of jute fibers were reduced by low-temperature pyrolysis and thus water absorptivity of pyrolyzed jute fibers was reduced as maximum pyrolysis temperature increased. Furthermore, XRD analysis and morphological studies by SEM indicated that the crystalline structure of native cellulose was rarely damaged after pyrolysis up to 300 °C. In case of mechanical properties, breaking tenacity and breaking strain of the fibers decreased with increasing maximum pyrolysis temperatures because flaws formed on the surface of pyrolyzed jute fibers acted as weak-links. In agreement with predictions made according to Weibull’s weakest-link theory, it was found that shortened pyrolyzed jute fibers could have higher breaking tenacities compared with raw jute fibers of the same length. In addition, the compatibility with hydrophobic matrix was investigated by the mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) reinforced with jute fibers. Consequently, it was hypothesized that low-temperature pyrolysis could be used to process raw jute fibers for use as short fiber reinforcements in fiber-polymer systems or be a simple and effective pretreatment method for a wide range of further chemical treatments.     

Effects of surface treatment of ramie fibers in a ramie/poly(lactic acid) composite

The chemical and morphological properties of ramie fibers treated by chemical surface modification were examined with Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The mechanical and thermal decomposition properties were evaluated with respect to tensile strength, tensile modulus and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Surface morphological changes were investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, the capabilities of composites reinforced with various chemically treated fibers were analyzed by investigating tensile and impact strengths. Additionally, the thermal mechanical properties of the composites were investigated with thermal mechanical analysis (TMA). Based on the results of these analyses, we concluded that pectin, lignin and hemicellulose were removed and thermal stability was increased with chemical treatments. The composites reinforced with ramie fiber showed better properties compared with pure PLA matrix with respect to tensile and impact strengths. The peroxide-treated fiber composite had the smallest thermal expansion.     

Study on the surface modification of PBO fiber under dielectric barrier discharge treatment

In order to improve the interfacial adhesion property between Poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fiber and epoxy, the surface modification effects of PBO fiber under dielectric barrier discharge treatments in different time were investigated. The samples were tested for surface morphology, functional groups, surface wettability and interfacial shear strengths (IFSS) in epoxy using scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, water contact angle measurements and Micro-bond pull out tests, respectively. The results indicated that fiber surface morphology after plasma treatment was rougher than untreated one. Some polar groups were introduced on fiber surface in plasma treatment. Moreover, surface wettability and the IFSS between fiber and epoxy had much improvement after plasma treatment, the contact angle decreased with the treatment time increasing and reached the lowest value when the treated time was 60 s, and the IFSS was improved by 117.3 %. On the other hand, no significant difference in single fiber tensile test was observed between treated and untreated fibers when the processing time was shorter than 75 s, but the tensile strength declined by more than 10 % after 75 s treatment as a result of the excessive plasma etching.     

Potential of using polyester reinforced coconut fiber composites derived from recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste

Unsaturated polyester resin synthesized from glycolyzed product of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste was used as a matrix to form coconut fiber/polyester composites. PET wastes were recycled through glycolysis and polyesterification reaction to produce a formulation for unsaturated polyester resin (UPR). FTIR spectra of glycolyzed product and prepared resin revealed that cross-links between unsaturated polyester chain and styrene monomer occurred at the saturated sites which resulted in the forming of cross linking network. To improve the adhesion between coconut fiber and polyester resin, various concentrations of alkali, silane and silane on alkalized fiber were applied and the optimum concentration of treatments was determined. The influence of water uptake on the sorption characteristics of composites was studied via immersion in distilled water at room temperature. Surface treatment of coconut fiber caused a significant increase in the tensile properties with the optimum treatment is 0.5 % silane on the 5 % alkalized coconut fiber/polyester composites. It was also observed that the treated fiber composites showed lower water absorption properties in comparison to those of untreated fiber composites. This observation was well supported by the SEM investigations of the fracture surfaces. From the study, it was concluded that polyester reinforced coconut fiber composites derived from recycling polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste may have the potential application in the fields of construction and automotive interior substrates.     

Characterization of plant and animal based natural fibers reinforced polypropylene composites and their comparative study

Natural fibers are largely divided into two categories depending on their origin: plant based and animal based. Plant based natural jute fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) matrix composites (20 wt% fiber) were fabricated by compression molding. Bending strength (BS), bending modulus (BM), tensile strength (TS), Young’s modulus (YM), and impact strength (IS) of the composites were found 44.2 MPa, 2200 MPa, 41.3 MPa, 750 MPa and 12 kJ/m², respectively. Animal based natural B. mori silk fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) matrix composites (20 wt% fiber) were fabricated in the same way and the mechanical properties were compared over the silk based composites. TS, YM, BS, BM, IS of silk fiber reinforced polypropylene composites were found 55.6 MPa, 760 MPa, 57.1 MPa, 3320 MPa and 17 kJ/m² respectively. Degradation of composites in soil was measured upto twelve weeks. It was found that plant based jute fiber/PP composite losses its strength more than animal based silk fiber/PP composite for the same period of time. The comparative study makes it clear that mechanical properties of silk/PP composites are greater than those values of jute/PP composites. But jute/PP composites are more degradable than silk/PP composites i.e., silk/PP composites retain their strength for a longer period than jute/PP composites.