Development and Testing Of Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites With Polyester Resin

Now --a ? days most of the automotive parts are made with different materials which cannot be recycled. Recently European Union (E.U) and Asian countries have released stringent norms concerning automotive end-life requirements i.e the parts of the automotives should be recycled. This increased the use of natural fibres in composite materials. Natural fibers have recently become more attractive to researchers, engineers and scientists as an alternative reinforcement for fiber reinforced polymer composites. Due to their low cost, low density, stiffness, fairly good mechanical properties, high specific strength, non-abrasive, eco-friendly and biodegradable characteristics, they are exploited as a replacement for the conventional fiber, such as glass, aramid and carbon. The tensile properties of natural fiber reinforced polymers (both thermoplastics and thermosets) are mainly influenced by the interfacial adhesion between the matrix and the fibers. Further the mechanical properties can be improved with several chemical modifications on the composites. In the present work, natural fiber (sisal, hemp, hemp and sisal combination) reinforced polyester resin composites were produced and are tested for mechanical properties and further compared with the normal plastics. The mechanical properties of sisal and hemp reinforced polyester resin composites were found to increase with increasing fiber weight fraction. In important properties hemp and sisal combination composite showed the best.