THERMAL ANALYSIS OF EPOXY BASED BIO - COMPOSITES REINFORCED WITH JUTE PREFORMS

Jute is an important natural fibre occupying second place in economic importance only to cotton. More importantly it is a commodity on which many households in the country depend for their cash earnings. However, the contribution of jute fibres for technical ap plications is limited at present. In this research, the suitability of jute fiber when incorporated into epoxy matrix was studied in an investigative series of experiments with a view to widen the share of jute fibers for engineered applications. Composite specimens containing nonwoven jute mat and alkali treated short jute fibers with different weight percentages (1, 2 wt%) were prepared and subjected to thermal analysis in order to study the effect of fiber geometry on thermal behavior of composites .