Development and characterization of compressed unidirectional jute fibre-reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composite materials

Abstract

Jute fibres have significant potential as a natural reinforcement in composite materials, particularly when these fibres are prepared and modified based on their grade and packing efficiency in dry fibre preforms. Highly packed unidirectional (UD) jute fibre preforms have been proven to possess excellent mechanical properties when combined with synthetic matrices, for example, epoxy, polyester, and polypropylene. However, very limited literature is available on the development of UD jute fibre-reinforced composites from biodegradable matrices such as polylactic acid (PLA). This work presents the development of highly compressed UD jute fibre preforms and composites from a PLA matrix. The results support the fact that compared to the mechanical properties of neat PLA, those of the composites improve significantly with an increase in the fibre content. At 50% fibre content, the composite achieved the highest tension strength of about ∼187 MPa and flexural strength of approximately ∼91.77 MPa. A comparative analysis shows that these composites can be viable alternatives to synthetic matrices such as epoxy, polyester, and polypropylene for many industrial applications.