A Comparative Study on Tensile Behaviour of Plant and Animal Fiber Reinforced Composites

The potential applications of natural products which are commonly used in the preparation of natural fiber reinforced composites are explored. The increasing demand for environmentally friendly materials and the need for cheaper fibers which increase the desirable mechanical properties forces to search for the natural products. The products that are abundantly available and are not efficiently used are taken in the study. Rice straw and chicken feather are one among the commonly available natural products of agricultural industry and poultry industry respectively which are considered as waste. These materials are disposed causing negative impact to the environment. Composite samples are prepared using untreated, uneven rice straw and chicken feather fibers using general purpose polyester resin matrix. The tensile behavior of the samples prepared with different volumetric proportions of the matrix and fiber were analyzed. The studies show an increase in the fiber loading decreases the tensile strength till an optimum fiber proportion. The tensile strength of rice straw fiber reinforced composites shows a decreasing trend till 40% of fiber volume and then increases. Similar behavior is observed in chicken feather fiber reinforced composites. The hybrid composites (rice straw and chicken feather combination) show an increasing trend till 30% of fiber volume and then decreases for 40% and again it increases.