A Study of the Mechanical and Fracture Behavior of Jute‐Fabric‐Reinforced Clay‐Modified Thermoplastic Starch‐Matrix Composites

Abstract

Starch/poly(vinyl alcohol) films plasticized with glycerol were prepared by a solution‐casting method and were used as the matrix material for making jute‐fabric‐reinforced starch‐based composites. Four sets of composites were prepared with a variation in the matrix composition, all having 40 wt.‐% jute fabric as the reinforcement. The mechanical properties were superior in the case of the matrices containing a higher amount of starch. DMA was done to investigate the nature of bonding at the interface. The fracture surfaces were examined by SEM. Intimate bonding of the jute fibers with the matrix was evident. The clay‐filled matrices displayed a flat crack surface without any plastic deformation.magnified image

Effect of natural fibres on the mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch

“…Some enzymatic or chemical modifications of the fibre could be applied to improve the compatibility of these components (Cyras et al, 2008;Ray et al, 2007;Thomas and Atwell, 1997;Zhang and Sun, 2004). These factors were also reported by other researchers.…”

“…Nanocomposites with starch and functional additives exhibited a remarkable improvement in the mechanical properties such as Young modulus and tensile stress (Chen and Evans, 2005;Cyras et al, 2008). Ray et al (2007) reported that jute fabric reinforcement effectively increased the mechanical properties of the starch-based matrix and such composites. Therefore, we can find eco-friendly applications in new fields.…”

“…The issue of using starch of different origin (mostly maize, wheat, potato, tapioca) for the production of TPS biodegradable packaging materials is discussed in numerous scientific papers (Chen and Evans, 2005;Cyras et al, 2008;Huang et al, 2004Huang et al, , 2005Souza and Andrade, 2002). This type of biodegradable products may be complementary to alternative plastics; however, they do not have a wide application due to certain defects ie brittleness, retrogradation, and hygroscopic properties (Averous and Boquillon, 2004;Mitrus and Mościcki, 2009;Ray et al, 2007;Thomas and Atwell, 1997). The mechanical properties of TPS-based materials are worse than those of conventional plastics.…”

“…In order to improve their physical properties, elasticity and material strength of obtained products, various fibres should be added to raw material blends. The main focus for now seems to be the use of biodegradable, renewable raw materials as a matrix material with biofibres as reinforcement and combination thereof into 'eco-friendly' and environmentally safe final products (Ray et al, 2007). For some years now, fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composites have been used in diverse fields, like sporting goods, cars, microlight aircrafts, electronic components, artificial joints, household articles, or structural components.…”

“…The main disadvantage of these fibres is that their mechanical properties depend on several factors, such as moisture content, cultivation area, and processing methods. Their thermal stability is also notably poor (Ray et al, 2007). The optimization and industrial production of biocomposites with natural fibre reinforcement is limited due to these variations.…”