PROCESSING OF NATURAL FIBRE POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITES

Abstract

During recent years, significant interest has been increased in the utilization of natural fibers to develop sustainable composites. The demand for reducing the consumption of synthetic fibers and replacing them with natural fiber in polymer composite is continuously increasing. Jute & date palm fiber has been a renowned source of lignocellulosic fibers/fillers in the development of polymeric composites. However, jute & date palm leaf fibers have not been explored in the woven mat form after treatment with the flame-retardant boric acid and chitosan, therefore, in the current research endeavor, jute & DPL fiber have been used in woven mat form to investigate the fiber potential to be used as a reinforcement in composite laminates. The first fiber mat was treated with the boric acid solution at varying times and concentrations, after that the treated fiber at maximum strength was treated with chitosan solution to enhance its thermal stability. The composite laminates were developed using direct compression molding using the film stacking method. The influence on mechanical, thermal, flammability, and dynamic mechanical behavior was investigated and reported. The optimum tensile strength and thermal stability of fiber after treatment with the flame retardant were found to be increased than the neat fiber.