Ac. Karmaker et al., INFLUENCE OF WATER-UPTAKE ON THE MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF LUTE FIBER-REINFORCED POLYPROPYLENE, Journal of applied polymer science, 54(12), 1994, pp. 1803-1807
Jute fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites have been produced and
characterized in order to investigate the influence of water on their
mechanical properties. Being hydrophilic, jute fibers absorb a high am
ount of water causing swelling of fibers. On the other hand, the therm
al shrinkage of polypropylene melt leaves some gaps between jute fiber
s and matrix material. We investigated whether these gaps could be fil
led by the swelling of wetted fibers. The fillup of these gaps would r
esult in a higher shear strength between fibers and matrix during frac
ture. Our results suggest that swelling of jute fibers in a composite
material can have positive effects on mechanical properties. (C) 1994
John Wiley and Sons, Inc.