Experimental Analyses and Characterization of Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites Produced by Injection Molding Method

Abstract

Natural fibers have been used as reinforcement in composite development over synthetic fiber in the recent years due to the biodegradability, sustainability, availability, recyclability and clean environment. This study examines the prospect of jute fiber using as reinforcement in High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) composites. Three different fiber weight fractions of 5%, 10% and 20% have been considered and termed as HDPEDJ-5, HDPEDJ-10, and HDPEDJ-20, correspondingly. Jute fiber was chemically treated as a part of the surface modification using 5% NaOH to adhere the bonding between reinforcement and matrix. Injection molding technique has been employed to prepare the samples as per the ASTM standards. The effect of the amount of fiber on composite performance was investigated through tensile strength, impact strength and hardness. In mechanical characterization, the HDPEDJ-10 sample provided better results by showing 25.5 MPa of tensile strength and 3.15 kJ/m2 of impact strength, whereas HDPEDJ-5 sample exhibited maximum Rockwell hardness of 90.9 RHB. It was observed from the data that the mechanical properties of the material improved as the content of jute fiber increased, which posits this eco-friendly composite as a potential candidate for industrial usage.