Development and Characterization of Compressed Unidirectional Jute Fibre Reinforced Polylactic Acid (PLA) Composite Materials

Abstract

Jute fibre has significant potential as a natural reinforcement in composite materials, particularly when the fibres are prepared and modified based on their grade and packing efficiency in dry fibre preforms. Highly packed unidirectional (UD) jute fibre preforms have proved to possess excellent mechanical values 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 for PLA matrix. The results support the fact that there is a significant improvement in the mechanical properties of the composites when compared to neat PLA by increasing the fibre content. At 50% fibre content, the composites 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 like epoxy, polyester, and polypropylene for many industrial applications.