Studies on mechanical performance of biofibre/glass reinforced polyester hybrid composites

The degree of mechanical reinforcement that could be obtained by the introduction of glass fibres in biofibre (pineapple leaf fibre/ sisal fibre) reinforced polyester composites has been assessed experimentally. Addition of relatively small amount of glass fibre to the pineapple leaf fibre and sisal fibre-reinforced polyester matrix enhanced the mechanical properties of the resulting hybrid composites. Different chemically modified sisal fibres have been used in addition to glass fibers as reinforcements in polyester matrix to enhance the mechanical properties of the resulting hybrid composites. The surface modification of sisal fibres such as alkali treatment produced optimum tensile and impact strengths, while cyanoethylation resulted in the maximum increase in flexural strength of the hybrid composites. It has been observed that water uptakes of hybrid composites are less than that of unhybridized composites. Scanning electron microscopic studies have been carried out to study the fibre-matrix adhesion. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.