Possibilities to improve the properties of natural fiber reinforced plastics by fiber modification - Jute polypropylene composites

The influence of the fiber-matrix adhesion in jute fiber-reinforced polypropylene on the materials behavior under fatigue and impact loadings was investigated throughout this study. It was shown that a strong interface is connected with a higher dynamic modulus and reduction in stiffness degradation with increasing load cycles and applied maximum stresses. The specific damping capacity resulted in higher values for the composites with poor bonded fibers. Furthermore, the stronger fiber-matrix adhesion reduced the loss-energy by non-penetration impact tested composites with roughly 30%. Tests which were performed at different temperatures, showed higher loss energies for cold and warm test conditions compared with room temperature. Post-impact dynamic modulus after 5 impact events was roughly 40% and 30% lower for composites with poor and good fiber-matrix adhesion, respectively.