Effect of environmental conditioning on natural fiber reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract

Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites are drawing attention nowadays due to their low cost, density, carbon emission etc. over synthetic fiber reinforced composites. From the application point of view, it is required to study the effect of various environments on the mechanical properties of the natural fiber reinforced composites. In the present research endeavor, jute reinforced epoxy composite laminates fabricated by hand lay-up process has been subjected to four different environments i.e. water, 5% NaOH solution, petrol and vegetable oil. Specimens of the composite laminate are exposed for three subsequent months and mechanical properties in terms of tensile and flexural properties have been investigated and analyzed after every month of exposure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is performed to study the effect of environment on the fracture behavior of the composite laminate. It was observed that alkaline environment significantly influences the mechanical properties of the composite laminate as compared to other environments. An increase in the flexural properties has been observed in composite laminates when exposed to petrol and vegetable oil.