Mechanical Behavior of Nettle/Wool Fabric Reinforced Polyethylene Composites

Natural fibers have lately been used to reinforce plastics that are employed in the production of different engineering products. These stand to be the preferable reinforcement material for polymer matrix composites on account of their biodegradability, low cost, and good mechanical properties. As a result, synthetic fiber (glass, Kevlar) reinforced composites in many engineering applications are now being replaced by natural fiber reinforced composites. An increasing interest is now apparent in hybridizing different natural fibers to come up with high performance composite materials. Designing hybrid biocomposites could involve combining a synthetic and a natural fiber (biofiber) or blending two natural fibers in a matrix. In the present experimental endeavor, new hybrid fiber reinforced composites based on low-density polyethylene matrix with both protein (wool) and lignocellulose (nettle) natural fiber were prepared using compression moulding process. Weight percentages of 15, 20, and 25 of the hybrid fiber reinforcement were used and its effect on the mechanical properties of the developed composites was experimentally examined. Scanning electron microscope has also been used to develop a good understanding of the failure mechanism of the developed composites.