TITLE:
Fabrication of Manila Hemp Fiber Reinforced Cross Ply Biodegradable Composites and Their Tensile Properties
AUTHORS:
Shinji Ochi
KEYWORDS:
Natural Fiber, Biodegradable Plastics, Manila Hemp, Biocomposites and Mechanical Properties
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Composite Materials,
Vol.8 No.3,
July
3,
2018
ABSTRACT: Natural plant fibers, including flax, kenaf, jute, bamboo, ramie and much
more are renewable and sustainable resources and are considered good candidates
for cost-effective alternatives to glass and carbon fibers. In this research,
cross ply biodegradable composites were fabricated by press-forming method. The
biodegradable composites consist of Manila hemp textile as a reinforcement and
starch-based biodegradable plastics as a matrix was fabricated and investigated
about mechanical properties. The tensile strength increased with the fiber
content until fiber content of about 50% and leveled off thereafter. This
dependence on the fiber content is due to the decrease in fiber strength of
loading direction caused by fiber damages introduced during hot-pressing. In
order to decrease the damage of fibers aligned in loading direction, Manila
hemp textile was produced by using Manila hemp fibers for warp and
biodegradable resin thread for weft. As a result, the tensile strength of cross
ply composites increased from 153 MPa to 202 MPa.