Studies on the Mechanical Characterization of Jute Fiber Reinforced Unsaturated Polyester Resin Based Composites: Effect of Weave Structure and Yarn Density

Abstract

This paper represents a comparative study of the different weave structures of jute woven fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) composites. The weave structures were selected as plain (1/1), twill (2/1), twill (3/1) and basket (2/2). Composites (50% fiber by wt.) were prepared by using hand lay-up technique. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength (TS), bending strength (BS) and impact strength (IS) of the composites were evaluated and compared. It was found that basket weave/UPR based composite showed the highest mechanical properties. The optimum value of TS, BS, TM, BM and IS of the composite were found to be 47 MPa, 80 MPa, 1.4 GPa, 4.8 GPa and 27 KJ/m2.To find out the effect of yarn density on mechanical properties of the composites, 2/1 twill structure was selected and found significant improvement in the mechanical properties with the increase of Ends/Inch (EPI) and Picks/Inch (PPI) in the fabric. Water uptake and degradation behavior in aqueous medium of the composites was also observed.