Fabrication and Mechanical Performance Investigation of Sisal and Sugarcane Fibers

Natural fibers, such as sisal, flax and jute, possess good reinforcing capability when properly compounded with polymers. These fibers are relatively inexpensive, originate from renewable resources and possess favorable values of specific strength and specific modulus. Thermoplastic polymers have a shorter cycle time as well as reprocessability despite problems with high viscosities and poor fiber wetting. The renewability of natural fibers and the recyclability of thermoplastic polymers provide an attractive ecofriendly quality to the resulting natural fiberreinforced thermoplastic composite materials. Common methods for manufacturing natural fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites, injection moulding and extrusion, tend to degrade the fibers during processing. Development of a simple manufacturing technique for sisal fiber, sugarcane baggage-reinforced polypropylene composites, that minimizes fiber degradation and can be used in developing countries, is the main objective of this study. Combination of sisal and sugarcane baggage fibers possesses good reinforcing capability when properly compounded with polymers.