Experimental Study on Single Fiber Tensile Properties of Sisal Fibers Using a Digital Image Correlation Method as a Strain Measurement

Abstract

ABSTRACT The development of natural fibers in engineering applications requires an accurate measurement of their dimensional characteristics and mechanical properties. Fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) obtained from lateral dimensional measurements should consider the specific cross-sectional shape (CSS) of the fibers and their wide lengthwise variations. In this study, the dimensional measurements of water-retted and unretted sisal fibers were conducted by laser scanning microscopy (LSM) and calculation-based methods. Single fiber tensile tests were performed using the digital image correlation (DIC) method. Results show that the diameters of water-retted and unretted fibers measured by LSM were 233 ± 45 µm and 236 ± 42 µm, respectively. The diameters of water-retted and unretted fibers obtained by calculation were 192 ± 17 µm and 178 ± 20 µm, respectively. The tensile strengths of water-retted and unretted fibers were 679 ± 118 MPa and 718 ± 106 MPa, respectively. The strain at failure and elastic modulus of water-retted and unretted fibers were 2.0 ± 0.6% and 34 ± 8 GPa, as well as 1.5 ± 0.2% and 48 ± 6 GPa, respectively. Water retting seems to predominantly influence the strain at failure and elastic modulus of sisal fibers, as confirmed by the ANOVA analysis.