Mechanical and viscoelastic properties of soybean oil thermoset reinforced with jute fabrics and carded lyocell fiber

Composites and hybrid composites were manufactured from renewable materials based on jute fibers, regenerated cellulose fibers (Lyocell), and thermosetting polymer from soybean oil. Three different types of jute fabrics with biaxial weave architecture but different surface weights, and carded Lyocell fiber were used as reinforcements. Hybrid composites were also manufactured by combining the jute reinforcements with the Lyocell. The Lyocell composite was found to have better mechanical properties than other composites. It has tensile strength and modulus of about 144 MPa and 18 GPa, respectively. The jute composites also have relatively good mechanical properties, as their tensile strengths and moduli were found to be between 65 and 84 MPa, and between 14 and 19 GPa, respectively. The Lyocell‐reinforced composite showed the highest flexural strength and modulus, of about 217 MPa and 13 GPa, respectively. In all cases, the hybrid composites in this study showed improved mechanical properties but lower storage modulus. The Lyocell fiber gave the highest impact strength of about 35 kJ/m², which could be a result of its morphology. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the Lyocell reinforced composite has the best viscoelastic properties. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Mechanical,flow, and morphological properties of talc‐ and kaolin‐filled polypropylene hybrid composites

Polypropylene (PP) hybrid composites have been produced by compounding two types of mineral fillers, viz., talc and kaolin with PP copolymer using a twin screw extruder. The PP hybrid composite was injection‐molded into dumbbell specimen for tensile, flexural, and impact properties characterizations. MFI and SEM studies were used to characterize the flow and morphological properties of the PP hybrid composites. The result shows that most of the hybrid composites showed a significant decrease in flow, tensile, flexural, and impact properties compared with the single filler‐filled PP composites. However, a hybridization effect was seen for the PPT20K10 hybrid composites, through the synergistic coalescence of positive characteristics from 20 wt % of talc and 10 wt % of kaolin. This hybrid formulation have given an economically advantageous material with the mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, and impact) comparable to those of the talc‐filled PP composites. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 434–441, 2007     

Effect of alkaline treatment on physical,mechanical, and thermal characteristics of jute filler reinforced epoxy composites

With burgeoning environmental concerns worldwide, using natural fibers/fillers to produce composites rather than conventional fibers is on the rise. The current work focuses on the physical and thermomechanical characteristics of alkaline-treated jute filler-based epoxy composites. The composites have been prepared with different weight fraction of jute fillers (0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, and 12.5%) using hand layup process. The X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis observed that the alkali treatment of jute fillers improved the crystallinity and molecular structure, enhancing the interfacial and molecular bond between fillers and matrix. The mechanical characterizations of developed composites analyzed that the inclusion of treated jute fillers strengthened the tensile and flexural properties. The 5% filler-based composites have demonstrated maximum tensile strength (54.06 MPa) and modulus (3.12 GPa) with maximum flexural strength (67.55 MPa) and modulus (3.90 GPa). The viscoelastic characteristics of composites revealed that the 7.5% filler-based composite has the highest storage modulus (3.75 GPa), loss modulus (0.496 GPa), and glass transition temperature (91°C) due to greater interfacial interactions of molecules. The weight loss and degradation of composites analyzed with thermogravimetric analysis, and observed better thermal stability with treated jute fillers. The morphological analysis at fracture surfaces analyzed the brittle catastrophic failure of composites. Therefore, the finding produced better specific strength and stiffness with greater thermal stability for electronics equipment, packaging, and transportation.     

Tensile,flexural and impact properties of jute fibre-based thermosetting composites

Abstract

The present study reports static and impact mechanical properties of jute fibre-based thermosetting composites using woven and flat braided jute fabrics. Tensile, three-point flexural and low-to-medium energy drop-weight impact tests were conducted and mechanical properties were evaluated to study their dependence upon surface modifications of the fibre materials due to bleaching and coating treatments. Full-bleaching (longer and rigorous) treatments improved interfacial bonding and tensile strength properties of the woven jute composites compared to unbleached and half-bleached counterparts. Bleaching treatments did not seem to improve the flexural strength of composites. Unbleached (natural) jute composites have relatively better flexural strength due to reduced microstructural waviness or fibre crimping to facilitate flexural failure. With coated jute yarns, the tensile properties of the resultant flat braided composites slightly degraded, whereas the flexural properties showed clear improvements. The changes in the mechanical properties were broadly related to the accompanying modifications and to the state of microstructural imperfections, namely fibre/matrix interfacial adhesion, severity of resin matrix shrinkage during the curing process, fibre/matrix debonding and distribution of disbonds within the matrix region, and also to the relative fibre filament density along the loading axis, in the cured composite structure. There was a clear indication that natural woven jute composites could be more effective in applications requiring better impact damage resistance, energy absorption capability and improved progressive crushing behaviour.     

A comparative analysis of woven jute/glass hybrid polymer composite with and without reinforcing of fly ash particles

The objective of this research article is to compare the mechanical and tribological properties of jute‐glass‐fiber‐reinforced epoxy (J‐G‐E) hybrid composites with and without fly ash particulate filler. A dry hand lay‐up technique is used to fabricate all the laminates. The properties including flexural strength, tensile strength, flexural modulus, and erosion behavior of all the composites are evaluated as per American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The fly ash particulate‐filled hybrid composite shows a better mechanical and tribological property. The maximum flexural strength and flexural modulus are obtained for GJGJ+ 5 wt% fly ash filler epoxy composites. Whereas the maximum tensile strength is obtained for GJJG+ 10 wt% fly ash filler epoxy composites. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis also has been carried out to categorize mechanical and tribological behavior of composites. POLYM. COMPOS. 37:658–665, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

黄麻纤维增强聚丙烯的力学性能

本文讨论了注塑成型黄麻纤维增强聚丙烯的制备方法和力学性能.将纤维重量含量分别为10%、20%和30%的复合材料进行比较,分析纤维含量对复合材料拉伸、弯曲和冲击性能的影响;将纤维分别切成约3mm、5mm和10mm长制成复合材料进行比较,分析纤维长度对复合材料拉伸、弯曲和冲击性能的影响.掺入黄麻纤维能使聚丙烯的拉伸和弯曲性能提高,但使其冲击强度降低;随纤维含量的增加或纤维长度的增加,复合材料的强度和模量是递增的,而冲击强度是递减的.     

Development of Silicon Carbide Reinforced Jute Epoxy Composites: Physical,Mechanical and Thermo-mechanical Characterizations

The aim of the present study was to investigate the physical and thermo-mechanical characterization of silicon carbide filled needle punch nonwoven jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The composite materials were prepared by mixing different weight percentages (0–15 wt.%) of silicon carbide in needle punch nonwoven jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites by hand-lay-up techniques. The physical and mechanical tests have been performed to find the void content, water absorption, hardness, tensile strength, impact strength, fracture toughness and thermo-mechanical properties of the silicon carbide filled jute epoxy composites. The results indicated that increase in silicon carbide filler from 0 to 15 wt.% in the jute epoxy composites increased the void content by 1.49 %, water absorption by 1.83 %, hardness by 39.47 %, tensile strength by 52.5 %, flexural strength by 48.5 %, and impact strength by 14.5 % but on the other hand, decreased the thermal conductivity by 11.62 %. The result also indicated that jute epoxy composites reinforced with 15 wt.% silicon carbide particulate filler presented the highest storage modulus and loss modulus as compared with the unfilled jute epoxy composite.     

Novel,low-cost jute-polyester composites. Part 1: Processing,mechanical properties,and SEM analysis

The development of high performance composites from a cheap natural fiber, jute, as reinforcement is particularly significant from an economic point of view. In this work, jute fiber-unsaturated polyester(GP) composites having appreciable mechanical properties were prepared by using solution impregnation and hot curing methods. Both unbleached (control) and bleached jute slivers with various percentages of fiber loadings were used to prepare the composites and were named JPH (C) i.e., Jute Polyester Hot Curing (control), and JPH (B) i.e., Jute Polyester Hot Curing (bleached), respectively. Mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural strain, toughness, and moduli of both the grades have been compared. Composites having 60 wt% of jute fiber yielded the best results. JPH (B) showed much better flexural properties than JPH (C), although the tensile properties of the latter were better. The inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) of the JPH (B) was found to be higher than JPH (C). The nature of fiber-resin bonding was studied from scanning electron micrographs of the specimens subjected to tensile and flexural fracture. Dynamic mechanical properties were found to be very high, superior even to those of glass fiber reinforced composites. The flexural storage modulus was found to be 12.3 GPa at 30°C and to decrease slowly with temperature. The major finding in this work is the attainment of high mechanical properties of composite specimens with 60 wt %fiber loading. On a weight and cost basis, bleached jute fibres were found to be better reinforcements than other fibers with usual surface modification by coating or grafting processes.     

Mechanical properties of talc‐ and (calcium carbonate)‐filled poly(vinyl chloride) hybrid composites

The main objective of this study was to investigate and compare the mechanical properties of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) composites filled with calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), talc, and talc/CaCO₃. Talc and CaCO₃ with different grades were incorporated into the PVC matrix. To produce the composites, the PVC resin, fillers, and other additives were first dry‐blended by using a laboratory mixer before being milled into sheets in a two‐roll mill. Test specimens were prepared by compression molding, after which the mechanical properties of the composites were determined. Single and hybrid filler loadings used were fixed at 30 phr (parts per hundred parts of resin). Talc‐filled composite showed the highest flexural modulus and the lowest impact strength, whereas uncoated, ground, 1‐μm CaCO₃ (SM 90) showed optimum properties in terms of impact strength and flexural modulus among all grades of CaCO₃. It was selected to combine with talc at different ratios in the hybrid composites. The impact strength of the hybrid composites gradually increased with increasing SM 90 content, but the flexural and tensile properties showed an opposite behavior. Hybrid (10 phr talc):(20 phr SM 90)‐filled PVC composite reached a synergistic hybridization with balanced properties in impact strength, as well as flexural and tensile properties. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Mechanical and thermal properties of talc and calcium carbonate filled polypropylene hybrid composites

The main aim of this work was to study and compare the mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid polypropylene (PP) composites and single‐filler PP composites. With two main types of mineral fillers—calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) and talc—PP composites of different filler weight ratios (talc/CaCO₃) were compounded with a twin‐screw extruder and then injection‐molded into dumbbell specimens with an injection‐molding machine. Tensile, flexural, and impact tests were performed to determine and compare the mechanical properties of the hybrid and single‐filler PP composites. A synergistic hybridization effect was successfully achieved; the flexural strength and impact strength were highest among the hybrids when the PP/talc/CaCO₃ weight ratio was 70:15:15. The nucleating ability of the fillers and its effects on the mechanical properties were also studied with differential scanning calorimetry. Because of the influence of talc as the main nucleating agent, the hybrid fillers showed significant improvements in terms of the nucleating ability, and this contributed to the increase in or retention of the mechanical properties of the hybrid composites. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 3327–3336, 2004     

Mechanical,thermal, and dielectric properties of aluminum nitride/glass fiber/epoxy resin composites

The treated hybrid fillers of aluminum nitride/glass fibers (AlN/GF) were performed to prepare the AlN/GF/epoxy composites by casting method. Results showed that the flexural and impact strength of the composites were increased firstly, but decreased with the excessive addition of AlN. The mechanical properties were optimal with 5 wt% treated AlN. The thermal conductivities of the composites were improved with the increasing content of AlN, and the thermal conductive coefficient λ was 1.412 W/mK with 70 wt% treated AlN, about seven times higher than that of pure epoxy resin. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the composites were increased with the increasing content of AlN. For a given AlN/GF hybrid fillers loading, the surface treatment of AlN/GF hybrid fillers exhibited a positive effect on the mechanical properties and thermal conductivities of the composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 35:381–385, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Effect of stacking sequence on mechanical properties of hybrid flax/jute fibers reinforced thermoplastic composites

In this study, the hybrid composites were prepared by stacking jute/PP nonwoven and flax/MAPP woven fabrics in defined sequences. Polypropylene (PP) and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) were used as matrix materials. Jute and flax fibers were treated with alkali solution in order to improve the interface properties of the resultant composites. The mechanical properties of these hybrid composites were analyzed by means of tensile, flexural, and drop‐weight impact tests. The effect of fabric stacking sequence on the mechanical properties of the composites was investigated. The stacking of nonwovens at the top and in alternate layers has resulted in maximum flexural strength, flexural stiffness, and impact force. It was also shown that hybrid composites have improved tensile, flexural, and impact properties in comparison to neat PP matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:2167–2173, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Mechanical properties and morphology of nylon‐6 hybrid composites

In this investigation, the influence of filler type and filler content on the mechanical properties of nylon‐6 is investigated. The mineral fillers were selected on the basis of their shape and size: flake‐like kaolin and talc, spherical glass beads or fibrous wollastonite. These fillers were added to nylon‐6 individually or in mixed combinations. They were added at different percentages varying between 10 and 30% w/w. Samples of the composites were prepared by the injection moulding process. Uniaxial tensile, Izod impact and flexural tests were carried out. Tensile strength, elongation at break, modulus of elasticity and impact energy were obtained and compared. In case of single fillers the results showed that the tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and their flexural values for nylon‐6 composite improve with the increase in filler content while mixed compounds showed no significant changes above 15% + 15% w/w filler. However, for single and mixed filler up to 10% w/w, the impact strength and maximum elongation at break showed significant decrease. In general, the maximum improvement in mechanical the addition of 10–15% w/w filler. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hybridized reinforcement of natural rubber with silane‐modified short cellulose fibers and silica

Natural‐rubber‐based hybrid composites were prepared by the mixture of short cellulose fibers and silica of different relative contents with a 20‐phr filler loading with a laboratory two‐roll mill. The processability and tensile properties of the hybrid composites were analyzed. The tensile modulus improved, but the tensile strength and elongation at break decreased with increasing cellulose fiber content. The scorch safety improved with the addition of 5‐phr cellulose fiber in the composites. The Mooney viscosity significantly decreased with increasing cellulose fiber content. To modify the surface properties of the cellulose fiber and silica fillers, a silane coupling agent [bis(triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide, or Si69] was used. The effects of Si69 treatment on the processing and tensile properties of the hybrid composites were assessed. We found that the silane treatment of both fillers had significant benefits on the processability but little benefit on the rubber reinforcement. The strength of the treated hybrid composite was comparable to that of silica‐reinforced natural rubber. Furthermore, to investigate the filler surface modification and to determine the mixing effects, infrared spectroscopic and various microscopic techniques, respectively, were used. From these results, we concluded that the fillers were better dispersed in the composites, and the compatibility of the fillers and natural rubber increased with silane treatment. In conclusion, the hybridized use of short cellulose fibers from a renewable resource and silica with Si69 presented in this article offers practical benefits for the production of rubber‐based composites having greater processability and more environmental compatibility than conventional silica‐filler‐reinforced rubber. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Raw and chemically treated bio-waste filled (Limonia acidissima shell powder) vinyl ester composites: Physical,mechanical, moisture absorption properties,and microstructure analysis

The rapid growth of environmentally sustainable and eco-friendly materials tends to the utilization of biowastes as filler in polymer matrix composites. The particulate composite with improved wettability of fillers and advanced approach can evolve polymer composites that exhibit promising applications in packaging, automobile, marine, construction, and aerospace. In the present work, one of the biowaste fillers were synthesized from Limonia acidissima shells via a top-down approach (pulverizing) and the surfaces were chemically modified using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) before they were used as fillers in vinyl ester polymer composites by different weight percentage (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt%). The prepared particulate composites were characterized by mechanical properties, moisture absorption behavior, and morphology. At different filler loading the tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength, hardness, density, and moisture intake tests were performed. The results reveal that the properties increased for composites filled with alkaline treated fillers for the same filler loading and found to be higher at filler loading of 15 wt%. The morphological analysis confirms the better interfacial bonding between alkali-treated particles and matrix due to the removal of non-cellulose materials from the surface of the particles.     

The effect of alkali treatment and filler size on the properties of sawdust/UPR composites based on recycled PET wastes

In this study, natural sawdust fillers from acacia were mixed with unsaturated polyester resin (UPR), which was prepared by recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste bottles to prepare sawdust/UPR composite. PET wastes were recycled through glycolysis and depolymerized to produce a formulation for the resin. The effects of alkali treatment, filler content, and filler size on the tensile, flexural, hardness, and water absorption of the composites were investigated. The results show that the modulus of both tensile and flexural increased with increasing filler contents, but the tensile and flexural strength of composites decreased. The size of sawdust also played a significant role in the mechanical properties, with smaller size sawdust producing higher strength and modulus. This is due to the greater surface area for filler–matrix interaction. The results also show that alkali treatment causes a better adhesion between sawdust and UPR matrix and improves the mechanical properties of the composites. Furthermore, surface treatment reduced the water absorption of composites. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Thermo-mechanical and mechanical behavior of hybrid isotactic polypropylene glass fiber reinforced composites (GFRC) modified with calcium carbonate (CaCO3)

The study investigates the thermo-mechanical properties of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) hybrid composites in reference to various amounts of particle- and fiber-shaped inorganic fillers. Three grades of hybrid composites were prepared as a function of filler amount: 5, 10, and 20 wt% and different ratios of glass fiber (GF) and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃). The main objective is to describe the relationship between the hybridization efficiency and mechanical performance of polypropylene-based composites. The analysis of the thermo-mechanical properties of the composites shows that both the total amount of the filler and the ratio of GF and CaCO₃ clearly influence the properties of the composites. Hybrid composites with the highest amount of the GF display improved thermo-mechanical stability. The presence of well-dispersed CaCO₃ in the composites was found to improve elongation at break and Vicat softening temperature values. Even though it is glass fiber, which shows higher filler effectiveness and visibly reinforces the composite samples, causing an increase in tensile strength or reinforcing efficiency, replacing up to 50% of this filler with calcium carbonate does not result in a considerable deterioration of the properties of the material.     

Effect of layering pattern on the physical,mechanical, and thermal properties of jute/bagasse hybrid fiber‐reinforced epoxy novolac composites

In this study, randomly oriented short jute/bagasse hybrid fiber‐reinforced epoxy novolac composites were prepared by keeping the relative volume ratio of jute and bagasse of 1:3 and the total fiber loading 0.40 volume fractions. The effect of jute fiber hybridization and different layering pattern on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of jute/bagasse hybrid fiber‐reinforced epoxy novolac composites was investigated. The hybrid fiber‐reinforced composites exhibited fair water absorption and thickness swelling properties. To investigate the effect of layering pattern on thermomechanical behavior of hybrid composites, the storage modulus and loss factor were determined using dynamic mechanical analyzer from 30 to 200°C at a frequency of 1 Hz. The fracture surface morphology of the tensile samples of the hybrid composites was performed by using scanning electron microscopy. The morphological features of the composites were well corroborated with the mechanical properties. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated an increase in thermal stability of pure bagasse composites with the incorporation of jute fibers. The incorporation of hybrid fibers results better improvement in both thermal and dimensional stable compared with the pure bagasse fiber composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Physical and mechanical properties of kenaf/flax hybrid composites

This research investigates the physical and mechanical properties of hybrid composites made of epoxy reinforced by kenaf and flax natural fibers to investigate the hybridization influences of the composites. Pure and hybrid composites were fabricated using bi-directional kenaf and flax fabrics at different stacking sequences utilizing the vacuum-assisted resin infusion method. The pure and hybrid composites' physical properties, such as density, fiber volume fraction (FVF), water absorption capacity, and dimensional stability, were measured. The tests of tensile, flexural, interlaminar shear and fracture toughness (Mode II) were examined to determine the mechanical properties. The results revealed that density remained unchanged for the hybrid compared to pure kenaf/epoxy composites. The tensile, flexural, and interlaminar shear performance of flax/epoxy composite is improved by an increment of kenaf FVF in hybrid composites. The stacking sequence significantly affected the mechanical properties of hybrid composites. The highest tensile strength (59.8 MPa) was obtained for FK2 (alternative sequence of flax and kenaf fibers). However, FK3 (flax fiber located on the outer surfaces) had the highest interlaminar shear strength (12.5 MPa) and fracture toughness (3302.3 J/m²) among all tested hybrid composites. The highest water resistance was achieved for FK5 with the lowest thickness swelling.     

挤出-注塑制备黄麻增强PLA复合材料及其性能

通过挤出共混、造粒、注射成型的方式制备了黄麻纤维填充聚乳酸(PLA)复合材料,研究了复合材料的力学性能以及黄麻与PLA之间的微观界面形貌。结果表明:黄麻的加入,并没有很好地改善黄麻/PLA复合材料的拉伸强度和弯曲强度;碱处理后的黄麻与PLA之间的界面性能有所改善;碱处理黄麻的加入,改善了黄麻/PLA复合材料的断裂伸长率与冲击韧性。