Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844

E€ect of wettability and ageing conditions on the physical and

mechanical properties of uniaxially oriented jute-roving-reinforced
polyester composites
A.C. de Albuquerque a, Kuruvilla Joseph a,1, Laura Hecker de Carvalho a,*,
Jose Roberto Morais d'Almeida b
a
Materials Science Engineering Department, Federal University of Paraiba, UFPB/CCT/DEMa-Av. Aprigio Veloso,
882-58109. 970-Campina Grande-PB, Brazil
b
Departamento de Ciencia dos Materiais e Metalurgia (DCMM), Ponti®ca Universiade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro (PUG-RJ),
Rua MarqueÃs de SaÄo Vicente 225, CEP 22453-900, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

Received 18 March 1999; received in revised form 26 October 1999; accepted 18 November 1999

Abstract
In order to obtain reliable composite materials in structural applications and to utilise fully the potential of reinforcing ®bres,
both perfect impregnation and strong interfacial bond formation have to be guaranteed. In the present study the tensile, ¯exural,
and impact behaviour of jute roving reinforced polyester composites were investigated as a function of ®bre loading and ®bre sur-
face wettability. Two types of unsaturated polyesters viz; (a) Resana having a wetting agent and (b) Elekeiroz without wetting
agent, were used to study the in¯uence ®bre surface wettability. It was noted that Resana polyester composites showed mechanical
properties superior to those of Elekeiroz composites. The impact strength of the Resana polyester composite with 30% ®bre content
was found to be 80 J/M2, which is about 350% higher than that of the polyester matrix. Jute rovings were alkali treated in 10%
aqueous NaOH solution for 3 h periods under two di€erent conditions, i.e. (a) immersion at room temperature and (b) re¯ux at
100 C. It was observed that jute rovings re¯uxed in alkali for 3 h showed better tensile properties than those treated at room tem-
perature. The mechanical properties of the jute Resana polyester composites were evaluated under three ageing conditions, i.e. (1)
immersion in water at 50 C for 48 h (2) under re¯ux in water for 2 h; and (3) thermal ageing in an air circulating oven at 100 C for
periods up to 8 days. Our results indicate that the composites re¯uxed in water for 2 h showed a slight improvement in their tensile
properties compared to those of immersion-aged composites. It was observed that thermal ageing tended to decrease the composite
mechanical properties, which was attributed to oxidative degradation of both ®bre and matrix. # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.
Keywords: Jute rovings; Polyester; composites; Ageing; Wettability; Mechanical properties

1. Introduction petroleum-based products, it is important to use natu-

In recent years short-®bre-reinforced polymer com-
posites have gained great importance because of their
advantages of processing, anisotropy in properties and
easy dispersion. In fact synthetic ®bres such as nylon,
rayon, aramid, glass and carbon are used extensively
for the reinforcement of plastics. Nevertheless, these
materials are expensive and non-renewable. Because of
the uncertainties prevailing in the supply and price of
* Corresponding author.
1
Permanent address Ð Department of Chemistry, St. Berchman's
college, Changanacherry, Kottayam, Kerala, India.
0266-3538/00/$ - see front matter # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0266-3538(99)00188-8
rally occurring alternatives. In many parts of the world,
apart from agricultural uses, di€erent parts of the plants
and fruits of many crops have been found to be viable
sources of raw materials for industrial purposes. The
use of natural ®bres in polymer matrices is highly bene-
®cial because the strength and toughness of the resulting
composites are greater than those of the unreinforced
plastics. Moreover, cellulose-based natural ®bres are
strong, light in weight, cheap, abundant and renewable.
Recently, cellulosic products and wastes such as shell
¯our, wood ¯our and pulp have been used as ®llers in
polymers, primarily to achieve cost savings [1,2]. Several
researchers in di€erent parts of the world have reported
834 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844
on the use of natural ®bres as reinforcing agents in
thermosetting and thermoplastic polymers [3±18].
Freiscmidt [3] reported the mixing of wood ®bres into
dough-moulding compounds (DMC). McKenzie and
Yuritta [4] reported on the improvement in tensile
strength bought about by the use of wood ®bres as a
®ller in polyethylene and other polymers. Zadorecki and
Michell [5] have studied the e€ects of wood ¯our in
phenolics and aminoplastics. The use of aspen in the
form of chemi-thermo mechanical pulp (CTMP) has
been reported by Beshay [6]. Maldas [7,8] and Raj et al.
[9,10] have studied the e€ects of di€erent coupling
agents and ®bre treatments on the mechanical proper-
ties of thermoplastic composites reinforced with cellu-
lose ®bres. Joseph et al. [11±18] reported on the use of
sisal ®bre as a potential reinforcing agent in poly-
ethylene, natural rubber, and various thermosets such
as epoxy, phenol-formaldehyde, and polyester.
Over the past decade, cellulose ®llers of a ®brous
nature have been of great importance, because they give
composites with improved mechanical properties com-
pared to those containing non-®brous ®llers [19±23].
Lignocellulosic ®bres like sisal, jute, coir, pineapple and
banana have been used as reinforcements in thermoset
matrices. Among these ®bres, jute is of particular inter-
est in that its composites have high impact strength in
addition to having moderate tensile and ¯exural prop-
erties compared to other lignocellulosic ®bres [19].
Several studies have been reported on jute-reinforced
polymer composites, especially with epoxy, phenolic, and
polyester matrices [24±27]. Mohan et al. [20] have
reported the compressive strength of jute/glass hybrid
epoxy composites. Roe and Ansell [24] have studied the
mechanical properties of jute reinforced polyester com-
posites containing uniaxially oriented jute ®bres. Bhat-
tacharya et al. [25] have made composites with jute
®bres in a phenolic resin. Sridhar et al. [26] have studied
the tensile, ¯exural and impact properties of unidirectional
and bi-directional jute/glass hybrid polyester composites.
Varma et al. [27] have studied the mechanical properties
of hybrid composites of glass and modi®ed jute fabric in
unsaturated polyester resin. An improvement in the
mechanical properties of laminates was observed when
jute fabric was modi®ed by titanate treatment.
However, owing to the presence of hydroxyl and
other polar groups in various constituents of jute ®bre,
the moisture regain is high which leads to poor wett-
ability with resin and weak interfacial bonding between
®bres and the relatively more hydrophobic matrices.
Environmental performance of such composites is gen-
erally poor as a result of delamination under humid
conditions. Therefore, in order to develop composites
with better mechanical properties and environmental
performance, it is necessary to impart hydrophobicity to
the ®bres by chemical treatment with suitable coupling
agents or by coating with appropriate resins. Several
studies have been reported on various types of chemical
treatments to jute ®bres. Varma and co-workers [28±30]
have extensively studied various types of chemical
treatments on natural ®bres especially jute ®bres. They
have reported that jute ®bres modi®ed by treatment
with Y-aminopropyl trimethoxy silane, isopropyl trii-
sostearyl titanate and toluene diisocyanate had lower
moisture regain and are, therefore, potential candidates
for reinforcement of organic matrix resins. Some studies
on imparting hydrophobicity to jute ®bres have been
carried out by coating with lignin or polyesteramide
polyol [31]. It has been observed that jute ®bres require
a large quantity of resin to wet the ®bres due to its por-
ous nature and a good portion of this resin is squeezed
out by the application of pressure during moulding [32].
Sridhar et al. [26] have reported that lignin coating has
been shown to bring down the resin consumption with-
out exerting any deleterious e€ect on the properties of
the ®bres. They have also reported that ethylene dia-
mine treatment on jute ®bres impart hydrophobicity
and thereby reduced the moisture absorption. Anderson
and Tillman [33] have studied the e€ect of acetylation
on the strength, rot resistance and hydrophobicity of
jute ®bres, It has been observed that acetylation imparts
hydrophobicity to jute ®bres and also enhance the
dimensional stability.
Grafting of vinyl monomers such as methyl metha-
crylate, ethyl acrylate, styrene, acrylonitrile and acryla-
mide onto jute ®bres have been extensively studied by
several researchers [34±38]. Samal et al. [34] have found
an increase in moisture absorption of jute ®bres on graft
copolymerization with methacrylate and styrene, but
with an undesirable loss of tensile strength. Siddique et
al. [35] observed a decrease in moisture anity of jute
on graft copolymerization of arylonitrile, styrene or
vinyl acetate. Mohanty et al. [36] have reported that
graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile onto acetylated
jute ®bres improved the thermal stability and also the
light fastness rating of jute ®bres dyed with basic dyes.
Agarwal and Sreenivasan [37] have studied the graft
copolymerization of vinyl monomers onto jute ®bres
using X-rays. Graft copolymeriztion of methyl metha-
crylate onto chemically modi®ed jute ®bres using
KMnO4-malonic acid redox system has been reported
by Tripathy et al. [38]. It has been concluded that these
surface treatments attempted have been e€ective in
improving the interfacial bonding, in reducing the resin
consumption, in ®lling of higher amount of ®bre and in
lowering moisture absorption by the composites.
However, very limited studies have been reported in
the literature on the use of jute rovings as reinforcement
in polymer matrices. Therefore, a detailed investigation
has been carried out to study the in¯uence of wetting
agent, alkali treatment and ageing conditions on the
mechanical properties of uniaxially aligned jute roving
reinforced polyester composites.
 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844 835

Table 1
Properties of BYK-A515 wetting agent

Chemical characteristics Recommended Non volatile Density at Refractive Flash point

dosage (%) matter (%) 20 C (g/ml) index ( C)

Solution of foam destroying polymers, 0.1±0.5 20 0.82 1.440 40

silicone free based on total
formulation

2. Experimental Micro 350). The crosshead speed used on tensile testing

2.1. Materials used
Jute rovings, classi®ed as 10/4 (cord thick-CG), hav-
ing an average diameter of 2.5 mm were supplied by
Cia. Textile Castanhal in Brazil. Sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) P.A. was used as received. Elekeiroz S.A and
Resana S.A. supplied the pre-accelerated unsaturated
polyester resins. These resins have essentially the same
characteristics except that Resana is formulated with a
wetting agent and Elekeiroz's is not. The wetting agent
used was BYK-A515 supplied by BYK chemicals, Bra-
zil. The properties of the wetting agents are given in
Table 1.
2.2. Fibre alkali treatment
Jute rovings were alkali treated in 10% aqueous
NaOH solution for 3 h periods under two di€erent
conditions, i.e. (a) immersion at room temperature and
(b) re¯ux at 100 C. In both cases, a proportion of 1 ml
of 10% NaOH solution was used for every 0.15 g of
®bre. After treatment the rovings were thoroughly
washed with running water and allowed to dry at room
temperature for 48 h before being used as reinforcement.
was 0.5 mm/min, while ¯exural testing was conducted at
1.7 mm/min. The modules and elongation at break were
calculated from the load displacement curve. At least
®ve specimens were tested for each set of samples and
the mean values were reported. Izod impact strength
was measured on a TMI testing machine operating with
a 2J pendulum.
2.5. Ageing studies
Thermal ageing was conducted in an air-circulating
oven operating at 100 C. Test samples were removed
after 4 and 8 days periods. After being cooled down and
conditioned at room temperature, the weights and
dimensions of each specimen were measured. Water
ageing studies were carried-out in two ways viz: (a)
under re¯ux in water for 2 h and (b) under immersion in
water at 50 C for 2 days. These samples were then dried
between two sheets of ®lter paper and then the weight of
each specimen was measured. The mechanical proper-
ties of these samples as a function of ageing were deter-
mined using the procedures mentioned above.

2.3. Preparation of composite sheets

Unidirectionally oriented jute rovings reinforced

polyester composites were prepared by aligning jute
rovings in a wooden board having arrays of nails as
shown in Scheme 1. A silicon coated glass plate was
placed at the bottom of the woven rovings, which were
pasted to the glass plate with silicone glue. A rubber
mould was placed over the glass and the polyester resin
mixed with a 1% MEK initiator was applied over the
®bres. Air bubbles were squeezed out by brushing to
ensure wetting of the rovings and the mould was then
carefully closed using silicon coated glass plate. The
system was kept under pressure for 24 h before
demoulding.

2.4. Mechanical testing of the composites

Scheme 1. Schematic diagram of the preparation of unidirectionally
Tensile and ¯exural tests have been carried out in oriented jute rovings± polyester composites; (a) Jute rovings waved in
accordance with ASTM D-638 and ASTM D-256 rules, wooden board having nails, (b) after ®xing the ends of the rovings in a
respectively, in a universal testing machine (Testometrics glass plate using silicone gum and placed in a rubber mould.
836 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844

Table 2
In¯uence of wetting agent on the mechanical properties of jute rovings reinforced±polyester composites as a function of ®bre content

Type of resin used Fibre Tensile Young's Elongation at Flexural Flexural Flexural
content strength modulus break strength modulus de¯ection
(%) (MPa) (GPa) (%) (MPa) (GPa) (%)

Elekeiroz 0 46.1 0.68 7.96 72.6 2.19 3.46

10 49 0.8 6.31 72.6 2.5 1.98
20 64.7 0.93 6.7 96.1 3.13 2.64
30 62.8 0.93 6.64 96.1 3.13 2.75
Resana 0 38.1 0.81 5.98 72.7 2.2 2.88
10 48.6 1.29 4.97 71 3.54 1.92
20 63.7 1.39 6 104.7 3.98 2.53
30 68.7 1.4 6.15 115 4.25 2.9

2.6. Fracture surface morphology
The surface of the fractured specimens were gold
sputtered and observed on a Zeiss DSM 960 scanning
electron microscope (SEM) operating with secondary
electron imaging at 10±20 kv.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. E€ect of ®bre surface wettability
Table 2 shows the e€ect of the matrix on the
mechanical properties of uniaxially oriented jute rovings
reinforced-polyester composites. The enhanced
mechanical properties exhibited by the composites pre-
pared with Resana's polyester resin are attributed to the
presence of a wetting agent in its formulation. Although
both resins exhibit almost similar strength and modulus,
upon the vegetable ®bre addition slightly better tensile
strength and much better (up to 80%) modulus were
obtained with Resana's. The increase in mechanical
properties by the presence of a wetting agent clearly
indicates the importance of ®bre surface wettability in
determining the physical and mechanical properties of
®bre reinforced composites. The wetting agent used was
BYK ±A515, which is a highly surface-active air release
additive with ®bre wetting properties. A major limita-
tion of all high speed composite processing is the wet-
ting of ®bres. Incomplete wetting or impregnation often
results in the formation of voids or air entrapment.
Although the occurrence of voids has been frequently
reported and is recognised as a major problem in com-
posites, the exact mechanism of void formation is not
clear due to its complexity [39]. From the theoretical
point of view, wetting can a€ect adhesion in two ways;
(a) incomplete wetting will produce interfacial defects
and thereby lower the adhesive bond strength by ¯aw-
induced stress concentrations. (b) Good wetting can
enhance the adhesive bond strength by increasing the
thermodynamic work of adhesion, which is directly
proportional to the fracture energy of the adhesive bond
[40]. In natural ®bre-reinforced polymer composites due
to the divergent behaviour in polarity i.e. natural ®bres
are hydrophilic or polar in nature whereas, most of the
polymers are hydrophobic or nonpolar in nature, ®bre
to matrix adhesion is very poor. The above Table shows
that the tensile strength and rigidity of the Resana
polyester composites increased with ®bre content, indi-
cating that even up to 30% of ®bre loading ®bre surface
wettability and interfacial bond strength are fairly good.
This can be clearly understood from Figs. 1 and 2. The
ability of the interfaces to transfer stresses from the
matrix to ®bre plays an important role in determining

Fig. 1. E€ect of ®bre content on the tensile strength of jute roving Fig. 2. E€ect of ®bre content on the tensile modulus of jute roving
reinforced Elekeiroz and Resana polyester composites. reinforced±Elekeiroz and Resana polyester composites.
 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844
the physical and mechanical properties of ®bre-reinforced
composites. To utilise the full potential of the reinfor-
cing ®bres, both perfect impregnation and wetting and
Fig. 3a. SEM photomicrograph of the tensile fracture surface of jute
roving reinforced±Resana polyester composites. b. SEM photo-
micrograph of the tensile fracture surface of jute roving reinforced±
Elekeiroz polyester composites. c. SEM photomicrograph of the mag-
ni®ed view of tensile fracture surface of jute roving reinforced±Resana
polyester composites.
837
formation of strong bonds have to be guaranteed for
reliable materials in structural applications. On the
other hand, a weak interfacial link providing increased
toughness by promotion of pullout e€ects can be desir-
able and bene®cial for energy-absorption purposes. The
adhesive bond itself may, in principle, be due to chemi-
cal, physical or mechanical (interlocking or anchoring)
links across the interface. Adhesion phenomena are not
only very complex, but they are also not fully under-
stood yet from a scienti®c point of view. Reinforcing
®bres are normally subjected to surface treatments to
improve their compatibility with the matrix. Adhesion
between ®bre and matrix cannot be achieved without
intimate contact i.e. unless the ®bre surface contacts the
resin on a molecular level. Fig. 3 a±c shows the SEM
photomicrographs of the tensile fracture surface of the
jute rovings±Resana polyester and jute±Elekeiroz
polyester composites. The better ®bre±matrix adhesion
in jute±Resana polyester composites can be readily seen
from Fig. 3a and c which shows the existence of poly-
mer particles adhered on the ®bre surface. On the other
hand, the ®bre surface of Elekeiroz polyester composite
is clean (Fig. 3b) without any polymer particles adhered.
As in the case of tensile properties, the ¯exural prop-
erties of all the system increases with ®bre loading. In
this case also, Resana-jute composites showed superior
properties to Elekeiroz±jute composites (Fig. 4). In a
three-point bend test a sample will experience tensile,
compressive and shear loads. In jute-reinforced Resana
composites due to the better ®bre±matrix adhesion, the
fracture starts by tensile fracture of the matrix on the
tensile side of the loading plane. Other cracks that run
in the ®bre direction or the shear plane develop from the
neutral plane. In Elekeiroz±jute composites, however,
there is less tensile fracture, excessive deformation and
virtually no shear plane cracking due to poor ®bre±
matrix adhesion.
In the present work, the data indicate that Resana's
composites display better mechanical properties than
the ones prepared with Elekeiroz's polyester as a matrix.
Fig. 4. E€ect of ®bre content on the ¯exural modulus of jute roving
reinforced Elekeiroz and Resana polyester composites.
838 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844

Table 3
In¯uence of di€erent alkali treatment on the mechanical properties of jute rovings reinforced ±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre
content

Type of alkali Fibre Tensile Young's Elongation Flexural Flexural Flexural Impact
treatment content strength modulus at break strength modulus de¯ection strength
(%) vol % (GPa) (GPa) (%) (MPa) (GPa) (%) (J/m)

Case Ia 0 38.1 0.81 5.98 72.7 2.20 2.88 20.8

10 48.6 1.29 4.97 71.0 3.54 1.92 26.2
20 63.7 1.39 6.00 104.7 3.98 2.53 50
30 68.7 1.4 6.15 115.0 4.25 2.90 84.2
Case IIb 0 ± ± ± ± ± ± ±
10 50.0 1.16 5.4 69.4 3.24 2.33 24
20 64.8 0.98 6.7 89.7 4.02 2.64 47.1
30 61.8 1.22 6.6 96.0 4.31 2.75 80
Case IIIc 0 ± ± ± ± ± ± ±
10 51.1 1.15 6.2 71.8 3.33 3.0 19.4
20 71.8 0.97 7.7 78.3 4.92 2.61 38.5
30 63.2 1.15 6.8 90.5 4.54 2.83 38.5
a
Case I: Untreated.
b
Case II: Immersion in 10% aqueous NaOH solution for 3 h at room temperature.
c
Case III: Rel¯uxed in 10% aqueous NaOH solution for 3 h.

This was taken to be due to a more ecient matrix to observed that the ®bre surface has a rough topography.
®bre stress transfer as a result of better wettability and The better-®bre adhesion can be readily seen from the
interfacial adhesion obtained with the former. There- ®gure. The existence of polyester particles adhered on
fore, further studies were conducted on composites the ®bre surface can be observed in alkali treated ®bre
having Resana's polyester as a matrix as these displayed composites. Therefore, development of a rough surface
better mechanical properties. topography enhancement in and aspect ratio o€er better
®bre±matrix interface adhesion and an increase in
3.2. E€ect of alkali treatment mechanical properties. This is clearly shown by the
decrease in the composite's impact strength, which is
Table 3 shows the e€ect of di€erent alkali treatment even more important at higher ®bre content (Fig. 6).
on the mechanical properties of jute rovings reinforced Impact strength is very sensitive to adhesion and,
Resana polyester composites. Our results show that the usually, very strong interfaces have a detrimental e€ect
harsher ®bre treatment (jute rovings re¯uxed in 10% on impact properties. It is generally accepted that the
aqueous NaOH solution for 3 h) tends to produce toughness of a ®bre-reinforced composite is dependent
composites with better mechanical strength, higher mainly on the ®bre stress±strain behaviour [41]. Jute
elongation at break, lower elastic modulus, higher ¯ex- ®bres are comparatively strong ®bres with high failure
ural modulus and signi®cantly lower impact strength
than similar composites reinforced with untreated or
mildly treated (3 h immersion in 10% aqueous NaOH
solution at room temperature) jute rovings. Table 3 also
shows that these e€ects are more pronounced at higher
®bre contents. This may be due to the fact that during
harsher alkali treatment, the alkali will penetrate into
the rovings more e€ectively and produce more sites for
polymer impregnation. In addition to this, alkali treat-
ment improves the ®bre surface adhesive characteristics
by removing natural and arti®cial impurities, thereby
producing a rough surface topography. Moreover,
alkali treatment leads to ®bre ®brillation, i.e. breaking
down of the composite ®bre bundle into smaller ®bres.
In other words, alkali treatment reduces ®bre diameter
and thereby increases the aspect ratio. Fig. 5 is the SEM
photomicrograph of the fracture surface of alkali trea- Fig. 5. SEM photomicrograph of the tensile fracture surface of alkali
ted jute roving reinforced polyester composite. It can be treated Jute roving reinforced±Resana polyester composites.
 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844 839

little ®bre pullout. This is very clear evidence for the

Fig. 6. E€ect of alkali treatment on the impact strength of jute roving
reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre content.
strain and therefore, impart a high work of fracture to
the composites. The ®bre pullout, interface fracture and
delamination are the major contributions toward the
high toughness of these composites. It is interesting to
note that alkali re¯uxed jute roving composites show
the least values in their impact strength. In general, the
energy-absorbing mechanisms built in the composite
include, (a) utilisation of the energy required to debond
the ®bres and pulls them completely out of the matrix,
(b) use of a weak interface between the ®bre and the
matrix [42]. It is clear that the conditions leading to (a)
and (b) are at odds with those required for good sti€-
ness and strength of the composites. In most ®bre-rein-
forced composites, a signi®cant part of energy
absorption during impact takes place through the ®bre
pullout process. The impact strength of alkali re¯uxed
samples at 30% ®bre loading is 110% less than those of
untreated and room temperature alkali treated samples.
As discussed earlier, the low impact strength of alkali
re¯uxed jute±polyester composites is due to the better
mechanical interlocking of the ®bre and matrix, which
resulted in the fracture of ®bre at the crack-plane with
above two conditions i.e. in ®bre reinforced composites,
a signi®cant part of the energy absorption during
impact takes place through the ®bre-pullout process. In
alkali re¯uxed jute±polyester composites the ®bre pull-
out is very small due to better ®bre±matrix mechanical
interlocking. This is strong supporting evidence for
better physical interactions occurring at the ®bre±matrix
interface due to the removal of soluble extractives and,
thereby producing more sites for polymer penetration.
The tensile strength values also support this conclusion.
It is apparent that maximum strength and maximum
toughness cannot be achieved simultaneously and the
composites must be designed for an optimum combina-
tion of the desired mechanical properties.
3.3. E€ect of water ageing
The e€ect of ageing in water on the tensile properties
of jute roving reinforced Resana polyester composites as
a function of ®bre content are presented in Table 4. The
®bres employed were not surface treated. It can be seen
that mechanical properties of pure polyester resin show
a slight increase after water ageing, may be due to the
post curing e€ect. From the above table, it can be
observed that the overall mechanical properties of water
aged composites are inferior to those of unaged com-
posites especially at higher ®bre loading. However, in
re¯uxed composites (composites re¯uxed in boiling
water for 2 h), the tensile strength values are superior to
those of samples immersed in water for 48 h. This can
be clearly understood from Fig. 7. This may be attrib-
uted to the fact that the rate of di€usion of water into
the composite is time dependent. The enhancement in
tensile properties of the re¯uxed composites may be due

Table 4
In¯uence of water ageing on the mechanical properties of jute rovings reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre content

Type of Fibre Tensile Young's Elongation Flexural Flexural Flexural Impact

water ageing content Strength modulus at break strength modulus de¯ection strength
(%) (MPa) (GPa) (%) (MPa) (GPa) (%) (J/m)

Case Ia 0 38.1 0.81 5.98 72.7 2.20 2.88 20.8

10 48.6 1.29 4.97 71.0 3.54 1.92 26.2
20 63.7 1.39 6.00 104.7 3.98 2.53 50
30 68.7 1.4 6.15 115.0 4.25 2.90 84.2
Case IIb 0 39 0.92 5.0 73 3.61 3.49 20.5
10 31 1.59 3.41 57.4 4.39 2.46 29.0
20 49.5 1.23 4.23 103.7 5.64 2.72 48.7
30 60.8 1.15 5.55 115.5 7.91 2.71 79.5
Case IIIc 0 39 0.85 5.8 73.4 2.35 3.51 21.0
10 45.2 1.36 4.35 65.8 3.73 2.13 27.3
20 60.1 1.09 5.55 103.5 4.02 2.65 49.8
30 66.8 1.12 6.14 110.9 5.15 2.70 83.7
a
Case I: Unaged.
b
Case II: Immersion in water at 50 C for 48 h.
c
Case III: Re¯uxed in water for 2 h.
840 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844

to the better mechanical interlocking between ®bre and associated with the increased water absorption of natural
matrix due to the limited swelling of the ®bre by low ®bres due to the presence of hydrophilic ÿOH groups.
water absorption. The in¯uence of water uptake on the Therefore due to high water content after exposure in
mechanical properties of jute ®bre reinforced poly- water for 48 h, the sti€ness of the cellulose ®bre drops
propylene composites was studied by Karmaker and co- considerably. This has been explained as being due to
workers [43]. They have observed that the swelling of the softening of the described zones of the cellulose
jute ®bres in composite material has a positive e€ect on micro®brils [45,46]. In fact, because of the excessive
the mechanical properties. When the ®bre absorbs a absorption of water, the intermolecular hydrogen
small amount of water, the ®bres tend to swell slightly. bonding in the cellulose ®bre might be reduced by the
This results in the development of a strong mechanical formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between
interlocking between the ®bre and the matrix. So at very cellulose molecules and water molecules, which lead to
low water absorption, the natural ®bre reinforced-poly- the deterioration of the module [47].
mer composites show a slight increase in their mechan- Fig. 10 shows the in¯uence of water ageing on the
ical properties. However, in the case of composites ¯exural strength of jute roving-polyester composites as
which were immersed in cold water for 48 h, the ®bres a function of ®bre loading. It can be seen that the ¯ex-
absorb more water and swell considerably. This exces- ural strength values of the jute-PP composites are found
sive water absorption and the resultant uncontrolled to be less than the neat resin at low weight fraction of
swelling of the ®bres leads to matrix cracking and ulti- the ®bre. However, an increase in ®bre content from 10
mate debonding of the ®bres. It has been reported that to 30% increases the ¯exural strength by 80%. The low
the water absorption of cellulose ®bre±polymer compo-
sites depends on the concentration of the ®bre [44]. This
can be clearly understood from Fig. 8, which shows the
change in water absorption with change in ®bre content.
It is seen that as the ®bre content increases, the water
absorption also increases.
Fig. 9 shows the e€ect of water ageing on the tensile
modulus of jute±polyester composites as a function of
®bre loading. From the above ®gure, it can be observed
that, water aged composites show a decrease in their
modulus values with ®bre loading. However, in the case
of unaged composites the modulus values increase with
®bre loading. Since the modulus of the matrix is con-
stant, the relative packing eciencies of the ®bre, ®bre
sti€ness and the ®bre±matrix adhesion are the impor-
tant parameters in determining the modulus of the
composites. Therefore, due to the better ®bre±matrix
adhesion and sti€ness of ®bres in Resana±jute compo-
sites, these composites show better modulus values than Fig. 8. E€ect of water absorption on the increase in weight of jute
water aged composites. The decrease in modulus values roving reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre
with ®bre loading observed in water aged composites is content.

Fig. 7. E€ect of ®bre content on the tensile strength of jute roving Fig. 9. E€ect of water ageing on the tensile modulus of jute roving
reinforced±Resana polyester composites after water ageing. reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre content.
 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844
¯exural strength values observed at lower ®bre weight
fraction might be due to the insucient ®bre loading.
However, the water-aged composites show inferior ¯ex-
ural properties than to composites at higher ®bre load-
ing. This can be explained on the basis of increased
water absorption at higher ®bre loading, which decrea-
ses the sti€ness of the ®bre.
Fig. 11 shows the e€ect of ®bre loading on the impact
strength of jute±Resana composites having aged and
unaged specimens. It is interesting to note that the
impact values of all the composites show an increase in
tendency but the increase is more pronounced in com-
posites which were re¯uxed in water for 2 h and unaged
composites. It is also seen that impact strength of
unaged composites is slightly higher than water
immersed samples at all ®bre loading. In all the cases,
the work of fracture (impact strength) of the composites
is found to increase linearly with the weight fraction of
the ®bre and the work of fracture for 30% unaged
composites is found to be 80 J/M2. It is about 350%
greater than those of pure polyester resin.
Fig. 10. E€ect of water ageing on the ¯exural strength of jute rooving
reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre content.
Fig. 11. E€ect of water ageing on the impact strength of jute roving
Reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre content.
841
3.4. E€ect of thermal ageing
Fig. 12 shows the in¯uence of thermal ageing on the
weight loss of jute-polyester composites as a function of
®bre loading. It can be seen that after 8 days of ageing
in a hot air oven, the weight of pure polymer itself is
slightly reduced. This may be due to the liberation of
volatile components from the polymer. But in jute rov-
ing reinforced composites, the weight loss increases with
®bre loading due to the liberation of volatile compo-
nents from the ®bre. As the ®bre content increases, the
amount of volatile components liberated will also
increase. From Table 5 it can be observed that thermal
ageing decreases the tensile strength of all the compo-
sites considerably. It is interesting to note that after 4
days of thermal ageing the strength of pure polyester
resin increases slightly due to the post curing e€ect. On
the other hand after 8 days of thermal ageing the
strength decreased considerably. The reduction in com-
posite properties observed may be due to two reasons,
(1) the oxidative degradation of both the polymer and
the ®bre (2) due to the prolonged heating, volatile com-
ponents of the ®bre surface are liberated o€ and the
®bre may get shrunk. When lignocellulosic materials are
heated, they undergo physical and chemical changes
[48,49]. Physical properties a€ected include enthalpy,
weight, strength, colour and crystallinity. Chemical
changes include reduction of the degree of polymerisa-
tion by bond scission, creation of free radicals, forma-
tion of carbonyls, carboxyls and peroxide groups
(especially in the presence of air), evolution of water,
carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and ®nally decom-
position at elevated temperature [48]. Although the com-
ponents of lignocellulosic material are supposed to remain
stable up to 160 C, the degradation reaction may initiate
slowly for prolonged heating at 80 C [49]. The SEM pho-
tomicrographs of the tensile failure surfaces of the thermal
aged jute±Resana polyester composites indicate the
shrinkage of ®bre during thermal ageing (Fig. 13). Due
to the shrinkage, ®bre±polymer interface becomes so
Fig. 12. E€ect of thermal ageing on the weight loss of jute roving
reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre content.
842 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844

Table 5
In¯uence of thermal ageing on the mechanical properties of jute rovings reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre content

Period of thermal Fibre Tensile Young's Elongation Flexural Flexural Flexural Impact
ageing (days) content strength modulus at break strength modulus de¯ection strength
(%) (MPa) (GPa) (%) (MPa) (GPa) (%) (J/m)

Case Ia 0 38.1 0.81 5.98 72.7 2.20 2.88 20.8

10 48.6 1.29 4.97 71.0 3.54 1.92 26.2
20 63.7 1.39 6.00 104.7 3.98 2.53 50
30 68.7 1.4 6.15 115.0 4.25 2.90 84.2
Case IIb 0 39.3 1.5 3.22 55.9 3.38 1.5 19.0
10 40.0 2.11 2.37 48.5 4.12 1.35 19.5
20 57.3 2.10 3.33 83.8 6.33 1.47 33.0
30 62.1 2.29 3.57 101.6 8.93 1.68 55.8
Case IIIc 0 28.6 1.37 2.56 34.9 3.95 0.93 9.7
10 25 1.98 1.43 47.2 5.89 1.10 16.8
20 52.1 2.07 3.12 79.6 7.21 1.32 25.0
30 60.8 2.43 3.01 104.2 9.52 1.69 40.4
a
Case I: Unaged.
b
Case II:Thermal aged at 100 C for 4 days.
c
Case III:Thermal aged at 100 C for 8 days.

weak that it will a€ect the ®bre-matrix physical inter-
locking. The result would be a complete ®bre pullout.
Fig. 14 shows the in¯uence of thermal ageing on the
tensile modulus of jute-polyester composites as a func-
tion of ®bre content. It can be seen that thermally aged
composites exhibit a superior tensile modulus than
unaged composites. The tensile modulus of pure polye-
ster resin also shows signi®cant increase in their mod-
ulus values with thermal ageing. This increase may be
due to the increased sti€ness of both the polymer and
the ®bres. The changes occurring in elongation values
with thermal ageing (Fig. 15) support this fact. From
this ®gure it can be seen that elongation values decrease
with thermal ageing both in the case of pure polymer
and ®lled polymer. This clearly indicated the increasing
sti€ness that occurred in polymer and ®bre due to pro-
longed ageing in a hot air oven. The changes are just a
reverse of modulus values, i.e. 4 days aged composites
showed the maximum values and unaged composites
exhibited the least values. It can be observed from Table 2
that the ¯exural properties of the composites showed
the same trend as in the case of tensile properties.
Fig. 16 shows the impact strength of thermally aged
and unaged composites as a function of ®bre loading. It
can be seen that thermal ageing on the composites
decreases the impact strength considerably due to the
degradation of the ®bre and the matrix. Due to the
prolonged ageing in hot air oven, the ®bres and matrix
become more brittle and this will cause negatively on
the resistance to impact of these materials.
3.5. E€ect of ®bre orientation
Figs. 17 and 18 show the e€ect of jute roving orien-
tation on the tensile strength and elongation at break
values of jute roving reinforced-polyester composites as

Fig. 13. SEM photomicrograph of the tensile fracture surface of Fig. 14. E€ect of thermal ageing on the tensile modulus of jute roving
thermal aged jute roving reinforced±Resana polyester composites. reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre content.
 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844
Fig. 15. E€ect of thermal ageing on the elongation at break of jute
roving reinforced±Resana polyester composites as a function of ®bre
content.
Fig. 16. E€ect of ®bre content on the impact strength of jute roving
reinforced± Resana polyester composites after thermal ageing.
a function of ®bre content. From the above ®gures it
can be seen that tensile properties of longitudinally
oriented composite are much higher than those of
transversely oriented composites. It is obvious that
change in tensile strength is almost independent of ®bre
content when the transversely oriented composites are
considered. Orientation of ®bres plays a vital role in the
performance of composite materials. Unidirectionally
oriented composites are inherently anisotropic in that
maximum strength and modulus are achieved along the
direction of ®bre alignment. In the transverse direction,
reinforcement is virtually non-existent and therefore
fracture usually occurs at very low tensile stress. When
the ®bres are aligned perpendicular to the direction of
force, ®bres are not in conjunction with the matrix in
increasing the strength of the composites. The higher
tensile strength values observed in longitudinal direction
show the anisotropic behaviour of the composites.
Greater hindrance to the fracture front is experienced,
when the ®bres are oriented longitudinally (i.e. perpen-
dicular to the fracture surface) to the applied force.
Breakage and pullout of ®bres takes place mainly when
the ®bres are oriented in the longitudinal direction,
whereas, for transversely oriented ®bre composites, the
843
Fig. 17. E€ect of ®bre orientation on the tensile strength of jute rov-
ing reinforced±Resana polyester composites.
Fig. 18. E€ect of ®bre orientation on the elongation at break values of
jute roving reinforced ±Resana polyester composites.
cracks progress in the direction of ®bre alignment. The
transversely oriented ®bres act as barriers that prevent
the distribution of stress throughout the matrix. This
causes a higher concentration of localised stress and
results in both poor and variable mechanical properties.
4. Conclusion
The e€ect of ®bre surface wettability, alkali treatment
and di€erent ageing conditions on the physical and
mechanical properties of longitudinally oriented jute
rovings reinforced polyester composites were evaluated
as a function of ®bre content. The tensile properties of
the longitudinal composites were compared with those
of transversely oriented composites. The strength (ten-
sile, ¯exural) and modulus of the longitudinal compo-
sites increased with ®bre content as predicted in
accordance with the rule of mixtures. The impact
strength also increased linearly with the ®bre loading.
The work of fracture (impact strength) of the composite
with 30% ®bre loading was found to be 80J/M. It is
about 350% greater than those of pure polyester resin.
The high toughness of this composite places it in the
844 A.C. de Albuquerque et al. / Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) 833±844
category of tough engineering materials. It has been
demonstrated that Resana polyester (having a wetting
agent) composites reinforced with jute rovings showed
superior mechanical properties as compared to Ele-
keiroz polyester composites, due to better ®bre surface
wettability. It was noted that alkali re¯uxed jute roving±
polyester composites showed better mechanical proper-
ties than room temperature treated composites due to
the better ®bre-matrix mechanical interlocking at the
interface. Water aged composites showed slight decrease
in mechanical properties than unaged composites espe-
cially at higher ®bre loading. It has been observed that
after 8 days thermal ageing mechanical properties of all
the composites decreased considerably. Finally, it is
worth mentioning that these composites can be used as
a substitute for wood.
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