Effect of Fiber Loading and Orientation on Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Jute-Polyester Laminated Composite

The effects of fiber orientation and volume fraction on the mechanical and thermal properties of laminated jute reinforced polyester composite are investigated. The composite sheets of thickness 4.0 mm are fabricated by hand lay-up method using three laminated stacks of jute fibers and four different orientations (0°/90°/0°, 90°/0°/90°, 45°/0°/-45° and −45°/90°/45°). For each fiber orientation, two-volume fractions of 20% and 30% are used. The mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural, impact strength, modulus of toughness and elasticity, and hardness of the fabricated composites are evaluated by testing as per ASTM standard. The thermal conductivity of the composite sheets is determined by Lee’s method. It is found that the mechanical strength, surface hardness and thermal conductivity of the laminated jute reinforced polyester composite are increased with fiber volume fraction and varied with fiber orientation. The tensile strength, energy absorption and load-bearing capacity are found the highest for 45°/0°/-45°, second-highest for 0°/90°/0° and the lowest for −45°/90°/45° fiber orientation. The flexural strength is found the highest for 0°/90°/0° and the second-highest for 45°/0°/-45° fiber orientation. The method and procedure of this research work can be used to fabricating moderate size jute reinforced polyester composites with elevated in-plane strength in both longitudinal and lateral directions.