Mechanical behavior of chemically treated Jute/Polymer composites

Abstract

Fiber which serves as a reinforcement in reinforced plastics may be synthetic or natural past studies show that only artificial fibers such as glass, carbon etc., have been used in fiber reinforced plastics. Although glass and other synthetic fiber reinforced plastics possess high specific strength, their fields of application are very limited because of their inherent higher cost of production. In this connection, an investigation has been carried out to make use of jute , a natural fiber abundantly available in India. Natural fibers are not only strong and lightweight but also relatively very cheap. In the present work, jute composites are developed and their mechanical properties are evaluated. Mechanical properties of jute/polymer and compared with glass fiber/epoxy. These results indicate that jute can be used as a potential reinforcing material for making low load bearing thermoplastic composites.

Keywords

• polymer composite
• jute