Physicomechanical and erosion wear characterization of PLA/Jute fiber biocomposite

Abstract

Introduction: The present study has demonstrated the effect of short jute fiber on physical, mechanical and erosion wear performance of PLA based composite. Problem Statement: An attempt has been made to develop and investigate the environment friendly and biodegradable composites based on jute fiber and PLA composite. Materials and Method: The erosion wear performance was assessed on Air-jet erosion tester. The design of experiments was prepared as per Taguchi orthogonal array L16 under for different factors of impact velocity, impingement angle, erodent size and jute fiber fraction and level of each factor was kept four. ANOVA was applied to find the best significant factor affecting erosion rate of composite. Main Results: The finding of results indicated that the density significantly increased with the addition of jute fiber and in parallel, it indicated the increment in the void content. The mechanical properties like hardness, tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and fracture toughness of PLA based composite reinforced with 15 wt.-% jute fiber were increased by 59%, 233%, 42%, 62% and 168% respectively. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of the composite was decreased by 31% with the addition of 15 wt.-% of jute fiber. The minimum erosion wear rate was obtained for 15 wt.-% of jute fiber under impact velocity of 35 m/sec and angle of impingement of 90° and erodent size of 250 µm. Finally, ANOVA concluded that the impact velocity and jute fiber fraction played the most important role in influencing the erosion wear rate of PLA composite. Recommendation: For many construction and structural applications, jute PLA/fiber composite can be suitable due to excellent mechanical properties and low thermal conductivity.