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Variability in, and Property Prediction for, Natural Fibre Composites

J. SUMMERSCALES, A. S. VIRK, W. HALL

Abstract



Natural fibres are perceived as a sustainable reinforcement for polymer matrix composites but reported mechanical properties have high variability. The authors have conducted experiments using a single batch of jute fibres and established that the coefficient of variation (CoV) in strain-to-failure is lower than the CoV for modulus or strength [1]. This characteristic appears to arise from the (incorrect) assumption of circular fibre cross-section. Weibull statistics were used to compare the apparent cross-sectional area derived from the diameter measured by optical microscopy transverse to the fibre to the true cross-sectional area measured from sectioned fibres. For the jute fibres studied, the above ratio can be used as a fibre area correction factor (FACF) in the rule of mixtures to generate improved prediction of the composite mechanical properties [2]. This paper will report comparisons between predictions with, and without, the FACF and experimental values for the authors' quasiunidirectional natural fibre composites data. Further analysis considers results from other research groups where sufficient data is available to make the comparison. The modified rules-of-mixture generally result in significantly better predicted values for the modulus and strength of natural fibre reinforced polymer matrix composites.

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