Effect Of Yarn Singeing And Commingling On The Mechanical Properties Of Jute/Polypropylene Composites

Lightweight and inexpensive natural fiber-reinforced composites are gaining market share due to their environment-friendly and sustainable nature. Among these, thermoplastic composites are preferred due to their recycling ability. However, their fabrication is a difficult task due to the higher viscosity of thermoplastic matrices. In the present study, we present the comparison of mechanical properties of jute/polypropylene composite samples fabricated using the conventional thermoforming technique with those fabricated using the commingled yarn technique. The effect of singeing of jute yarn on its mechanical properties as well on the weaving efficiency of jute fabric as reinforcement for composites was also studied for the first time. Mechanical properties, that is, tensile, flexural, and instrumented Charpy impact properties, were tested using standard testing methods. It was found that singeing improves mechanical properties of jute yarn as well as its performance during weaving. Furthermore, the yarn commingling not only simplifies/shorten the composite fabrication process but also improves the mechanical properties of the developed composites significantly in comparison to conventional thermoforming technique.