• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.3A
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• pp.251-260
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• 2011

In this study, the effect of natural jute fiber volume fraction on the bond characteristics of polyolefin based macro fiber in natural jute fiber reinforced cement composites, including bond strength, interface toughness, and microstructure analysis are presented. The experimental results on polyolefin based macro fiber pullout test of different conditions are reported. Natural jute fiber volume fractions ranging from 0.1% to 0.2% are used in the mix proportions. Pullout tests are conducted to measure the bond characteristics of polyolefin based macro fiber from natural jute fiber reinforced cement composites. Test results are found that the incorporation of natural jute fiber can effectively enhance the polyolefin based macro fiber-cement matrix interfacial properties. The bond strength and interface toughness between polyolefin based macro fiber and natural jute fiber reinforced cement composites increases with the volume fraction of natural jute fiber. The microstructural observation confirms the findings on the interface bond mechanism drawn from the fiber pullout test results.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.28-37
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• 2019

Due to their flexible tailoring qualities, composites have become fascinating materials for structural engineers. While the research area of fiber-reinforced composite materials was previously limited to synthetic materials, natural fibers have recently become the primary research focus as the best alternative to artificial fibers. The natural fibers are eco-friendly and relatively cheaper than synthetic fibers. The main concern of current research into natural fiber-reinforced composites is the prediction and enhancement of the effective material properties. In the present work, finite element analysis is used with a numerical homogenization approach to determine the effective material properties of jute fiber-reinforced epoxy composites with various volume fractions of fiber. The finite element analysis results for the jute fiber-reinforced epoxy composite are then compared with several well-known analytical models.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.111-115
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• 2005

Recently, natural fibers draw much interests in composite industry due to low cost, light weight, and environment-friendly characteristics compared with glass fibers. In this study, mechanical properties were evaluated for two extreme cases of jute fiber orientations, i.e. the unidirectional yarn composites and the felt fabric composites. Samples of jute fiber composites were fabricated by RTM process using epoxy resin, and tensile, compression, and shear tests were conducted. As can be expected, unidirectional fiber specimens in longitudinal direction showed the highest strength and modulus. Compared with glass/epoxy composites of the similar fabric architecture and fiber volume fraction, the tensile strength and modulus of jute felt/epoxy composites reached only 40% and 50% levels. However, the specific tensile strength and modulus increased to 80% and 90% of the glass/epoxy composites. The main reason for the poor mechanical properties of jute composites is associated with the weak interfacial bonding between fiber and matrix. The effect of surface treatment of jute fibers on the interfacial bonding will be examined in the future work.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.398-403
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• 2018

Recently, environmental pollution caused by plastic waste, ecosystem disturbance of micro-plastics and human body accumulation are becoming big problems. In order to replace the traditional plastic, eco-friendly resin and natural fiber-based composite materials have been developed, but they have a disadvantage that their mechanical properties are significantly lower than those of synthetic fiber-based composites. In this study, eco - friendly nanofiber was extracted from seaweed and used as an additive in order to improve the mechanical properties of jute fiber-reinforced composites. Through the hand lay-up process, the composites were fabricated, and it was confirmed that the nanofiber was effective in improving the mechanical properties of natural fiber composites through tensile, bending and drop weight impact tests.

• Composites Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.96-102
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• 2014

In this study, we fabricated jute fiber reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composite in the form of sandwich panel structure which includes core foam of chopped jute fiber reinforced PLA and outer skin layer of continuous glass fiber reinforced PLA. Flexural properties of the composite were assessed for different jute fiber weight fractions. Density of the core foam ranged from 0.31 to 0.67 $g/cm^3$ and void content fraction 0.51 to 0.71. The maximum flexural strength was 92.7 MPa at 12.5 wt.% of jute fiber content, and the maximum flexural modulus was 7.58 GPa at 30.0 wt.%. Cost analysis was also conducted. The cost to enhance the flexural strength of the applied structure was estimated to be $0.010USD/m^3/MPa$ for 12.5 wt.% fiber content.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.5
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• pp.613-618
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• 2020

Exhausting oil resources and increasing pollution around the world are forcing researchers to look for new, renewable, biodegradable materials to lead sustainable development. The use of fiber reinforced composites based on natural fibres has increasingly begun as prospective materials for various engineering applications in the automotive, rail, construction and aerospace industries. The natural fiber chosen to make the composite material is plant-based fibre, e.g. jute fibre, and hemp fibre. Thermosetting polymer based Epoxy (LY556) was utilized as matrix material and The composites were produced using hand lay-up technique. The fabricated composites were tested for acoustic testing, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and flammability testing to asses sound absorption, thermal decomposition and fire resistivity of the structures. Hemp fibre composites have shown improved thermal stability over Jute fibre composites. However, the fire resistance characteristics of jute fibre composites are better as compared to hemp fibre composites. The sound absorption coefficient of composites was found to enhance with the increase of frequency.

• Advanced Composite Materials
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.385-394
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• 2007

In this study, the effect of molding condition on the tensile properties for plain woven hemp fiber reinforced green composite was examined. The tensile properties of the composite were compared with those of the plain woven jute fiber composite fabricated by the same process. Emulsion type biodegradable resin or polypropylene sheet was used as matrix. The composites were processed by the compression molding where the molding temperature and its heating time were changed from 160 to $190^{\circ}C$ and from 15 to 25 min, respectively. The following results were obtained from the experiment. The tensile property of hemp fiber reinforced polypropylene is improved in comparison with polypropylene bulk. The strength of composite is about 2.6 times that of the resin bulk specimen. Hemp fiber is more effective than jute fiber as reinforcement for green composite from the viewpoint of strength. The molding temperature and time are suitable below $180^{\circ}C$ and 20 min for hemp fiber reinforced green composite. Hemp fiber green composite has a tendency to decrease its tensile strength when fiber content is over 50 wt%.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.74 no.4
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• pp.515-520
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• 2020

In the modern era, the world is facing unprecedented challenges in form of environmental pollution and international agencies are forcing scientists and materialists to look for green materials and structures to counter this problem. Composites based on renewable sources like plant based fibres, vegetable fibres are finding increasing use in interior components of automobile vehicles, aircraft, and building construction. In the present study, jute and flax fibre based composites were developed and tested for assessing their suitability for possible applications in interior cabin and parts of automobile and aerospace vehicles. Matrix system involves epoxy as resin and fibre weight fractions used were 45% and 55% respectively. Composites samples were prepared as per American society for testing and materials (ASTM) standard and were tested for individual fiber tensile strength, composite tensile strength, and flexural strength to analyse its behavior under various loading conditions. The results revealed that the Jute fibre composites possess enhanced mechanical properties over Flax fibre composites.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.204-210
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• 2011

In this study, Jute fibers reinforced polypropylene (JFRP) composites were manufactured by injection molding technique. In order to improve the affinity and adhesion between fibers and thermoplastic matrices during manufacturing, Maleic anhydride (MA) as a coupling agent have been employed. Untreated and treated surfaces of jute fibers were characterized using SEM and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Physical properties like water absorption rate were studied. Tensile and flexural tests were carried out to evaluate the composite mechanical properties. Tensile test and bending test indicated that JFRP composites show higher strength and modulus than pure PP. In addition, strength and modulus were found to be influenced by the variation of MAPP content (1%, 2%, and 3%). Tensile fracture surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscope. It ensures better interfacial adhesion between fibers and matrix by increasing the percentage of MAPP.

• Composites Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.32-38
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• 2007

Natural fibers can refer to all types of fibres only produced by nature. Their lengths vary from particles to long strands. Natural fibers are categorized roughly by six types, depending on the types of sources; base, leaf, seed, grasses, fruit and wood. Of these fibers, jute, flax, sisal and ramie are the most commonly used as reinforced materials in preparing polymer composites. In development and improvement of these composites, many studies have been implemented to overcome the drawbacks such as incompatibility, moisture problems and so on. The range of industry sectors of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites becomes more extensive gradually and many of the companies all over the world are engaged in fabrications or applications. This paper mainly discussed the recent status of the domestic/overseas market and research issues of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites. We made an exception of wood-polymer composites market which have played a great role because they had been often dealt with.