Influence of structural design on mechanical and thermal properties of jute reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) laminated composites

Natural fiber reinforced composites are currently used in various fields such as automobile, building construction and furniture materials considering the increasing environment pollution caused by the extensive use of plastic products. In this study, jute fiber and polylactic acid (PLA) were combined to prepare jute PLA-based biodegradable composites. PLA is one of the most attractive research pursuits among thermoplastic composites due to its excellent biodegradability and the ultimate degradation products of PLA are carbon dioxide and water, which have no pollution to the environment. Basically, the mechanical and thermal performances of the jute/PLA laminated composites were characterized and analyzed in this work. The analytical results on jute/PLA sandwiches reveal that different ply counts and stacking sequences significantly influence the mechanical properties of the composites material. The study on jute/PLA composites will provide quantitative experimental data for potential applications with advantages of lightweight, cost effective, easy manufacture, biodegradable and excellent mechanical properties.