A Study on Mechanical Behavior of Surface Modified Natural Fiber Based Polymer Composites

Abstract

In recent years, natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have received much attention because of their many advantages such as lightweight, nonabrasive, nontoxic, low cost and biodegradable properties. A lot of research has been done all over the world on the use of natural fibers as a reinforcing material for the preparation of various types of composites. However, due to the incompatibility between fibers and polymer matrices, the
tendency to form aggregates during processing and the poor resistance to moisture, reduce the use of natural fibers as reinforcements in polymers. Chemical treatments of the natural fiber can clean the fiber surface, stop the
moisture absorption process, chemically modify the surface, and increase the surface roughness. To this end, in the present research work, the use of pretreated natural fibers in polymer matrix composites has been studied. Also, the effect of surface modification of natural fibers on the mechanical properties of bamboo fiber reinforced polymer composites has also been discussed. Finally, the surface morphology of the composite of fractured surface is analyzed using SEM study.