In this work, the exfoliation of nanoclay in the polyester matrix was investigated using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to evaluate the optimum parameters (frequency and time) in ultra-sonication technique. Various weight percent (1, 3, 5 and 7) of nanoclay is then mixed with polyester resin at optimum parameters. The mechanical properties and free vibration characteristics are investigated to determine the optimum clay percentage in the matrix. Further, with the optimum clay weight percentage, jute fibers of various weight percentages (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30) were used to prepare the composite. The tensile, flexural, impact and free vibration characteristic of composite are found as per ASTM standards. From the results, it is found that 5% addition of nanoclay and 15% jute fiber increases the mechanical and vibration behaviour of the composites. Experimental modal analysis was carried out on a cantilever beam-like sample revealed that the addition of nanoclay and fiber has enhanced natural frequencies and damping ratio and the obtained natural frequencies are in good agreement with the theoretical results.

In this article, the influence of alkali treatment and addition of montmorillonite nanoclay as filler on mechanical and visco-elastic behaviour of jute fibre polymer composite were investigated. The composites are fabricated using 5wt% of nanoclay, untreated and chemically treated jute fibre of various percentage by handlayup method. The static mechanical properties like tensile, flexural, impact and inter laminar shear strength are studied as per respective ASTM standard. The dynamic mechanical analysis was carried out to evaluate storage modulus and damping factor of the prepared composite. The composition and structure of the functional groups of modified fibres were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that the interaction of filler addition and NaOH+KMnO 4 treatment of fibres have significantly improved the tensile, flexural and impact properties to 47.12, 201.13, 172.61MPa respectively. Dynamic mechanical analysis results revealed that the incorporation of filler increases the storage modulus and glass transition temperature. The incorporation of 5wt% clay and 25wt% jute fiber increase the glass transition temperature of the composite material from 109 to 115 °C.

This paper represents the nanomechanical properties of various loading levels of montmorillonite clay filled polyester composites and randomly distributed jute fiber reinforced hybrid composites through Vickers micro-hardness test. The study of indentation fracture mechanics in polymer materials is a simple and cost-effective technique for the determination of fracture toughness. Ultrasonication technique was used to disperse the clay in the polyester matrix. The hand layup method was adapted to prepare the test specimens. Incorporation of 5[Formula: see text]wt.% montmorillonite clay into the polymer matrix results in an enhancement in hardness of 26.52% and the modulus of elasticity increased from 4205.21[Formula: see text]MPa for neat polyester to 5051.46[Formula: see text]MPa with the addition of clay. Fracture toughness was observed to depend on the montmorillonite clay content, and the maximum value was observed at 5[Formula: see text]wt.% nanoclay and 25[Formula: see text]wt.% jute fibers. The results show that the increase in the fiber content reduces the crack propagation in hybrid composites and increases the fracture toughness. To predict the crack size, the scanning electron microscope images are used.

This work presents the function of biobased ingredients (palm fiber) as reinforcement in brake pad materials. Reinforcement in brake lining improvise wear stability, wear resistance and friction optimization under a dynamic set of operating variables such as braking force, sliding speed, braking duration and braking temperature. The effect of palm fiber on physical, mechanical and tribological properties of brake pad composite is evaluated. The percentage of palm fiber is gradually increased from 2% to 12% at an interval of 2% as an alternate of rockwool fiber by varying the pressure and speed in a pin on disc tribometer. By increasing the pressure, 8% and 10% shows high friction stability at all speeds. The results show that the raise in the palm fiber quantity increases the hardness, specific gravity and heat swell and the properties, loss on ignition and porosity decreases. The SEM descriptions of the composite indicated that the smaller micro voids occurred in the sample having low palm fiber. Weight gain in the composites were also observed by exposing them in salt water, water and oil.

In this research, the effect of the addition of aluminosilicate (bentonite) nanoclay powder on the mechanical and dynamic mechanical behavior of polyester composites was investigated. Nanoclay laminates were fabricated in four different combinations, and the effect of nanofiller addition on the mechanical behaviors has been tested under ASTM Standards. The nanoclay and polyester resin were mixed using the ultrasonication process. Due to the enhanced interface between nanoclay and polyester, the flexural, tensile, and impact characteristics of laminates were boosted by clay addition. The loss modulus, storage modulus, and tan δ of the specimen were studied as a function of temperature and frequency of oscillation using a dynamic mechanical analyzer, and it was discovered that the addition of 5 wt% bentonite clay provided better strength and had the highest storage modulus than the other laminates. A morphology analysis was done on the fractured specimens through the scanning electron microscopy.