Viscoelastic behaviour of untreated and chemically treated banana Fiber/PF composites

Abstract

The dynamic mechanical properties such as storage modulus, loss modulus, and tan δ of banana fiber reinforced PF composites fabricated by RTM and CM techniques were investigated as a function of fiber content, fiber treatment, temperature and frequency. Storage modulus (E′) increases with increase in fiber content and records maximum for the composites having a fiber loading of 40 wt % at all temperature ranges. The loss modulus and damping increases to great extent by the addition of filler, a maximum was observed for filler with 10–20 wt % fiber content followed by a slight decrease in loss modulus and damping with increasing filler content. Alkali treatment of the fiber shows a great enhancement in E′ and T g of the composites. Comparison is made between the composites fabricated by RTM and CM. RTM composites exhibited higher storage modulus and lower damping compared to CM composites.