Evaluation of Surface Treatment Effects on the Tensile Strength of Piassava (Attalea Funifera) Fibers Using the Weibull Distribution

Abstract

The effect of several surface treatments on the tensile strength of piassava fibers is discussed in terms of the Weibull statistical distribution. It is shown that the Weibull modulus can be used as an indicative parameter of the degree of surface structural modifications caused by the surface treatments, refining the results obtained by the LSD statistical test. SEM analysis was used to independently characterize the fiber surface structural changes caused by the treatments and corroborates the results inferred from the Weibull modulus.