Strength and Fracture Behavior of Abaca Green Composites

Abstract

The present paper deals with the optimum processing condition of abaca fiber-reinforced green composites, followed by the examination of their strength and fracture behavior. Tensile properties of heat-treated abaca fibers were examined. It was found that the tensile strength of abaca fiber depended strongly on the heat-treatment conditions and that there was a critical condition which the strength of heat-treated abaca fiber was unchanged. After that, two types of abaca fiber-reinforced green composites were fabricated by a hot-pressing method, namely unidirectional and cross-ply composites. These green composites were made using woven abaca fiber as a reinforcement and dispersion-type, starch-based biodegradable resin as a matrix. The mechanical and fracture properties of the abaca green composites have been evaluated as a function of fiber content. These properties are comparable to those of glass fiber reinforced plastics. The tensile strength of abaca fiber reinforced green composites was affected by weft materials; namely the strength of green composites with soft cotton weft was higher than that of the composites with hard abaca weft. This phenomenon was derived from the damage in warp which was introduced during the hot-pressing.