journal of thermoplastic composite materials - iartelli

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Journal of Thermoplastic

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DOI: 10.1177/0892705711404726June 2011

2012 25: 45 originally published online 13Journal of Thermoplastic Composite MaterialsA.I. Mustafa

R.A. Khan, M.A. Khan, H.U. Zaman, F. Parvin, T. Islam, F. Nigar, R. Islam, S. Saha andComposite

Fabrication and Characterization of Jute Fabric-Reinforced PVC-based

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Fabrication and Characterizationof Jute Fabric-ReinforcedPVC-based Composite

Ruhul A. Khan,* Mubarak A. Khan, Haydar U. Zaman andFahmida Parvin

Nuclear and Radiation Chemistry Division, Institute of NuclearScience and Technology, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission,

GPO Box: 3787, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Towhidul Islam, Farah Nigar, Rafiqul Islam, Suvasree Sahaand A.I. Mustafa

Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Universityof Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT: Jute fabrics (hessian cloth) reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC) basedcomposites were prepared by compression molding. Jute content varied from4060wt% in the composites. Four layers of jute fabrics were compression moldedwith five layers of PVC. It was found that the composite containing 40% jute fabricsshowed the best performance. The values of tensile strength (TS), bending strength(BS), tensile modulus (TM), and bending modulus (BM) of the composite (40wt%jute fabrics) were found to be 59.3MPa, 62.6MPa, 1.3GPa, and 3.2GPa,respectively. The values of TS and BS were improved to 77% and 46%, respectively,compared to the matrix material PVC. Scanning electron microscopic analysis wascarried out to investigate the interfacial properties of the composites. Degradationtests of the composites (up to 6 months) were performed in soil medium and showedpartial degradation nature.

KEY WORDS: polyvinyl chloride, natural fiber, composites, jute, compressionmolding.

Journal of THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE MATERIALS, Vol. 25February 2012 45

0892-7057/12/01 4514 $10.00/0 DOI: 10.1177/0892705711404726 The Author(s), 2011. Reprints and permissions:

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*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.E-mail: [email protected] 1 appears in color online http://jtc.sagepub.com


INTRODUCTION

RESEARCH ON POLYMER and composite materials gained a significantattention due to their versatile applications in many fields. Early workson composites focused mostly on the synthetic matrix and reinforcement[13]. The synthetic materials are undoubtedly good in mechanical proper-ties and durability. But they are not biodegradable and cause environmentalpollution. Therefore, an attention is focused to invent environment-friendlycomposite materials to replace synthetic composite [4,5]. Unfortunately,fully biodegradable composites have not enough thermo-mechanicalproperties compared to that of the synthetic fiber-reinforced composites[68]. In this investigation, jute fabrics (hessian cloth) are used as reinforcingagent and PVC as the matrix material. Jute fabrics are made of jute fibers.Jute is a natural biodegradable fiber but PVC is not biodegradable. Jute-reinforced PVC-based composite is partially degradable-type compositeswhich can compete with synthetic fiber-based composite materials. Jute is avery cheap and lightweight natural. So, to fabricate partially degradable-type low-cost and lightweight composite, jute fabrics were selected. Jute hasthree principal constituents, namely a-cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin.The architecture of jute fabrics (hessian cloth or burlap) is shown inFigure 1. Interest in using natural fibers as reinforcement in polymer matrixas partial replacement of synthetic fibers has grown significantly during thelast decade because of their low cost, low-abrasive nature and low density,biodegradability, and recyclable nature [911]. This leads to advantages withregard to technical, material recycling, or process of composite materials ingeneral. When they are subjected to a combustion process or landfill at theend of their life cycle, the released amount of CO2 of the fibers is neutralwith respect to the assimilated amount during their growth. Therefore,scientists found natural fibers as a potential candidate for applications inconsumer goods, low-cost housing and automotive interior components,and many others. Natural fiber composite is of great demand in the wholeworld for environmental and ecological concerns [1216]. Among all naturalfibers, jute appears to be a promising material due to its low cost,nonabrasive nature, low density, high strength, and modulus than plasticand is commercially available in tropical countries. Jute composites can thusensure a very effective and value-added application avenue for the naturalfiber. It can be very cost-effective material especially for building andconstruction industry (panels, false ceilings, partition boards, etc.),packaging, automobile and railway coach interiors, and storage

46 R. A. Khan et al.


devices [1721]. Thermoplastic matrix materials are the most importantparts of a composite. PVC is a thermoplastic polymer and widely used as anengineering material because it possesses several vital and useful properties.It is inexpensive, durable, and flexible. It is a very popular material and hasmany and varied uses within industry and fabrication applications.Throughout the world, above 50% of PVC manufactured is used in thefield of construction. There are several reasons why PVC has the broadestrange of application and its use has grown more rapidly than other plastics[2226]. It is because PVC is easy to fabricate and it can last for long time.PVC has outstanding chemical resistance to a wide range of corrosive fluidsand offers more strength and rigidity than most of the other thermoplastics.It is a nonpolar and has a low permeability to gases. PVC exhibits greatertensile strength (TS) and high softening temperature (1558C). Its intrinsicproperties make it demanding and suitable for numerous applications[2732]. The objective of this research work was to study the mechanical anddegradation properties of jute fabric-reinforced PVC-based partiallybiodegradable composites.

Figure 1. Architecture of jute fabrics (hessian cloth or burlap).

Jute Fabric-Reinforced PVC-based Composite 47


EXPERIMENTAL

Materials

Hessian cloth (unbleached commercial grade, made of Tossa Jute) wascollected from Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), Dhaka,Bangladesh. The architecture of hessian cloth is shown in Figure 1.Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheets were purchased from Polyolefin CompanyLtd., Singapore.

Composites Fabrication

The PVC sheets were cut into small pieces (15 12 cm2) and kept in thedesiccator until composite fabrication. Jute fabrics were dried in an oven at1058C for 1 h and then cut into small pieces of dimension 15 12 cm2.Composites were prepared by sandwiching four layers of jute fabricsbetween five sheets of PVC and then the sandwich construction was heatpressed at 1908C (above the melting point of PVC) for 5min between twosteel plates using heat press (Carver Laboratory, USA Model 3856) under apressure of 5 tons. Then, composite containing steel plates was cooled toroom temperature using another press (same model) and then cut to thedesired size for testing.

Mechanical Properties of the Composites

The mechanical properties such as TS, bending strength (BS), tensilemodulus (TM), and bending modulus (BM) were determined for thecomposites according to DIN 53455 and DIN 53452 standard methods by auniversal testing machine (INSTRON 1011) with a gauze length of 20mm.The impact strength (IS) was measured using impact tester (MT-3016)according to DIN EN IS0 179 standard in the flat wise, un-notched mode.Hardness was determined by HPE Shore-A Hardness Tester (model 60578,Germany). All the results were taken as the average values of 10 samples.

Soil Degradation Tests of the Composites

Composite samples were buried in soil (having at least 25% moisture) fordifferent periods of time. After a certain period, samples were withdrawncarefully, washed with distilled water, and dried at 1058C for 6 h and kept atroom temperature for 24 h and then measured for their mechanicalproperties.



RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Comparative Studies of the Mechanical Properties of the Composites

Jute fabric-reinforced PVC matrix composites (20, 40, and 60wt% jute)were prepared and the mechanical properties were evaluated. Themechanical properties such as tensile, bending, impact, and hardness ofthe PVC sheet were investigated and the values are represented in Table 1.TS, BS, TM, BM, elongation at break (Eb%), IS, and hardness of the PVCsheet are found to be 33.4MPa, 42.8MPa, 0.681GPa, 0.801GPa, 15.8%,4.94 kJ/m2, and 98 Shore-A, respectively. The mechanical properties of thejute/PVC composites as a function of jute fabrics were measured. The valuesof TS and BS of the composites with regards to percentages (%) of jutecontent in the composites are shown in Figures 2 and 3, respectively. It was

Figure 2. TS of composites against jute content in PVC.

Table 1. TS, BS, IS, and hardness of PVC sheet.

Materials TS (MPa) BS (MPa) IS (kJ/m2) Hardness (Shore A)

PVC sheet 33.47 42.8 4.94 980.5



observed that the values of TS and BS of composites were increased linearlywith the increase in jute fabrics to 40%, as at this level, the density of thefibers is just right for maximum orientation and the fibers activelyparticipate in uniform stress transfer from the continuous polymer matrixto the dispersed fiber phase. At lower levels of fiber content, the compositeshows poor mechanical properties due to poor fiber population and low-load transfer capacity to one another. As a result, stress gets accumulated atcertain points of the composites and highly localized strains occur in thematrix. However, beyond 40% of fiber content, there was a notablereduction in mechanical properties of composites. High levels of jute contentlead to agglomeration within the matrix and nonuniform stress transfertakes place. This implies poor fibermatrix adhesion, which promotesmicro-crack formation at the interface and the resulting composite propertyis again found to decrease [33]. The values of TS and BS are found to be 59.3and 62.6MPa, respectively, for 40% jute-containing composite which gained77.17% and 46.26% increase in TS and BS, respectively, than those of PVCmatrix. TSs of 20% and 60% jute-containing composites are found to be39.83 and 51.13MPa, respectively, while BS values of these are found to be48.1 and 54.8MPa, respectively. A similar improvement in the TM and BMwas also observed in Figures 4 and 5, respectively. It was found that bothTM and BM showed continuously increasing trends from 20% to 40% jute

Figure 3. BS of composites against jute content in PVC.



Figure 4. TM of composites against jute content in PVC.

Figure 5. BM of composites against jute content in PVC.



content in polymer matrix further increasing of jute content decreased thevalues. Composite containing 40% jute showed 99.41% and 299.5% higherTM and BM than those of PVC sheet, respectively, and the values are foundto be 1358 and 3200MPa, respectively. For 20 and 60% jute-containingcomposites, the values of TM were found to be 972 and 657MPa. On theother hand, the values of BM showed 1900 and 2800MPa, respectively.The incorporation of jute into PVC matrix has resulted in reduction of theelongation at break which is represented in the Figure 6. The percentage ofelongation at break (Eb%) of the composites was decreased with increasingjute content in composites because of low Eb% of the fibers compared toPVC. The values of Eb% were found to be 15.8, 13.6, 11.2, and 9.7 for PVCsheet, 20%, 40%, and 60% jute-containing composites, respectively. FromFigure 7, it was found that IS values gradually increased with increasing jutecontent in composites up to 40% and the value is 21.67 kJ/m2 and thendecreased whereas only 4.94 kJ/m2 is found for PVC sheet. Hardness of thecomposites is represented in Table 2. Shore-A hardness of the compositesindicated that due to incorporation of jute fibers inside PVC, the hardness ofthe composite did not reduce but had almost similar properties. From thisinvestigation, it is clear that jute composites gained huge mechanicalproperties over the matrix material and thus indicated good fiber matrix

Figure 6. Variation of elongation at break with jute fiber content in composites.



adhesion. The interface of the composites was investigated by scanningelectron microscope (SEM). The SEM micrographs of (A) 40% and (B)60% jute fabric-reinforced PVC-based composites are presented in Figure 8.It is clear that for 40% jute/PVC composites (Figure 8(a)), fibers (from jutefabrics) are distributed properly but for higher percentage (60% jute) offibers in composite (Figure 8(b)), a clear distinction between matrix (PVC)and reinforcing agent (jute fabrics) is found. At higher percentage of jute,the matrix PVC is not good enough to cover all fibers of jute fabrics thuslowering the mechanical properties. This investigation was carried out basedon the macroscopic point of view of the composite.

Figure 7. IS of composites against jute content in PVC.

Table 2. Hardness of composites.

Materials Hardness (Shore A)

20% jute fiber/PVC composite 980.540% jute fiber/PVC composite 990.560% jute fiber/PVC composite 980.5



Relative Degradation of the Mechanical Properties of the Composites

Degradation tests of the composites were performed in soil at ambientconditions for up to 24 weeks. Figure 9 shows the effect of degradation time

Figure 9. Variation of TS and BS with soil degradation time of composite containing 40% jutecontent.

Figure 8. Scanning electron microscopic images of the interface of (a) 40% and (b) 60%jute fabric-reinforced PVC-based composites.



on TS and BS of the composites. From the test results, it was observed thatboth TS and BS decreased slowly with time. After 24 weeks of soildegradation, the losses of TS and BS values for 40% jute-containingcomposite are found to be 15% and 17%, respectively. Similarly, TM andBM values were also decreased over degradation time and the results aredepicted in Figure 10. It is found that after 24 weeks, the losses of TM andBM values are 20.47% and 25.84%, respectively, for 40% jute-containingcomposite. When buried, microbial degradation takes place as well as watermay enter from the edges of the composites and thus degrade the fibersslowly inside the composite, as a result, the mechanical properties of thecomposites were decreased significantly.

CONCLUSION

Hessian cloth (jute fabrics) reinforced PVC matrix-based composites(2060 wt% fiber) were prepared by compression molding and themechanical properties were evaluated. It was observed that incorporationof jute in PVC matrix, the mechanical properties of the compositesimproved. The best mechanical properties of the composites were found for

Figure 10. Variation of TM and BM with soil degradation time of the composite containing40% jute.



40% jute-containing PVC (60%) based composites. An increase of 77% and46% in TS and BS was observed with 40% jute fabric-reinforced compositeas compared with the PVC matrix, which indicated the potentiality ofhessian cloth as reinforcing agent. Degradation tests in soil mediumindicated that jute fabrics/PVC composites are partially degradable-typecomposite with advantages including low-cost natural fiber.

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