Sisal fiber polymer mortar composites: Introductory fracture mechanics approach

Elevated environmental awareness and an increasing concern with the global warming have stimulated the construction, automotive, and packing industries to look for materials that can replace conventional synthetic fibers. Natural fibers appears as a good alternative since they are available in fibrous form and can be extracted from plant leaves, stalk, fruits and seeds at very low costs. In this study, the effect of fiber surface treatment on fracture properties were studied for natural sisal fiber reinforced polymer mortars (PMs). Fiber surface treatments were performed by soaking the sisal fibers in different% of NaOH and in acetic acid. Epoxy and unsaturated polyester resin were used as matrix for preparing the composites. For comparison, unreinforced and untreated sisal fiber reinforced polymer mortars were also studied. From the results it was observed that untreated sisal fiber reinforced polymer mortars have higher fracture properties than other composites. 10% NaOH sisal fiber polymer mortars show lower properties. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.