Biocomposites reinforced with natural fibers: 2000–2010

Review: Raw Natural Fiber–Based Polymer Composites

Bamboo fibre reinforced biocomposites: A review

A review of unconventional sustainable building insulation materials

Potential materials for food packaging from nanoclay/natural fibres filled hybrid composites

Mechanical properties of natural fibre reinforced polyester composites: Jowar, sisal and bamboo

Fabrication and testing of natural fibre composites: Vakka, sisal, bamboo and banana

Elephant grass stalk fibers were extracted using retting and chemical (NaOH) extraction processes. These fibers were treated with KMnO4 solution to improve adhesion with matrix. The resulting fibers were incorporated in a polyester matrix and the tensile properties of fiber and composite were determined. The fibers extracted by retting process have a tensile strength of 185 MPa, modulus of 7.4 GPa and an effective density of 817.53 kg/m3. The tensile strength and modulus of chemically extracted elephant grass fibers have increased by 58 and 41%, respectively. After the treatment the tensile strength and modulus of the fiber extracted by retting have decreased by 19, 12% and those of chemically extracted fiber have decreased by 19 and 16%, respectively. The composites were formulated up to a maximum of 31% volume of fiber resulting in a tensile strength of 80.55 MPa and tensile modulus of 1.52 GPa for elephant grass fibers extracted by retting. The tensile strength and the modulus of chemically extracted elephant grass fiber composites have increased by approximately 1.45 times to those of elephant grass fiber composite extracted by retting. The tensile strength of treated fiber composites has decreased and the tensile modulus has shown a mixed trend for the fibers extracted by both the processes. Quantitative results from this study will be useful for further and more accurate design of elephant grass fiber reinforced composite materials.

Tensile properties of elephant grass fiber reinforced polyester composites

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate and characterize the properties of elephant grass fiber reinforced fully biodegradable poly lactic acid (PLA) composites. The composites were prepared with various weight fractions of untreated and treated fibers in PLA matrix using injection moulding technique. The tensile strength of PLA composite with treated elephant grass at 20% fiber loading was 18.14% and 24% higher than that of treated jute/PLA composite and plain PLA, respectively. While the flexural strength of treated elephant grass/PLA composite at same fiber loading was 4% and 22% higher than that of treated sisal composite and plain PLA, respectively. The impact strength of composites with untreated elephant grass, sisal and jute fibers were 129.5%, 111.5% and 22.3%, respectively higher when compared with plain PLA. The water absorption rate increased in all the composites as the fiber content increased and the absorption rate reduced with successive alkali treatment on the fibers. The thermal stability of the composite had been reduced with successive alkali treatments as evident from the TGA analysis. The percentage weight loss in all the composites was linearly increasing with number of days of soil burial. The degradation was high in composite with untreated fibers at highest weight fraction. Using enzymatic environment, the degradation was much faster compared to soil burial. Significant effect of surface modification was evident during observing surface morphology of tensile fractured and soil degraded surfaces of the composites using SEM. POLYM. COMPOS., 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers

Mechanical and degradation properties of natural fiber reinforced PLA composites: Jute, sisal, and elephant grass

The natural fiber reinforced biodegradable polymer composites were prepared with short sisal fiber as reinforcement in poly lactic acid (PLA) matrix. The sisal fiber is treated with 10% NaOH follow...

A.V. Ratna Prasad

Papers

Mechanical properties of natural fibre reinforced polyester composites: Jowar, sisal and bamboo

Fabrication and testing of natural fibre composites: Vakka, sisal, bamboo and banana

Tensile properties of elephant grass fiber reinforced polyester composites

Mechanical and degradation properties of natural fiber reinforced PLA composites: Jute, sisal, and elephant grass

Mechanical and degradation properties of successive alkali treated completely biodegradable sisal fiber reinforced poly lactic acid composites