Author(s)

SEIJI MITSUBAYASHI, KENICHI TAKEMURA

Abstract

Recently, the development of green composites (GCs), which are 100% biomass-derived composites made of biodegradable resin reinforced with natural fibres, has attracted much attention. To improve the mechanical properties of GCs, it is necessary to enhance the adhesion between the fibre/resin interface, and alkaline treatment and cyclic tensile loading of natural fibres are considered to be effective methods. However, the optimal conditions of alkaline treatment and tensile loading for maximizing the mechanical properties of GCs have not been clarified. Therefore, in this study, to investigate the effect of alkaline treatment under tensile stress on the mechanical properties of continuous natural fibre reinforced PLA composites, continuous natural fibre reinforced PLA composites were prepared by simultaneously applying alkaline treatment and tensile loading to the continuous natural fibres and their mechanical properties were evaluated. The results showed that the mechanical properties were further improved by applying tensile load during alkaline treatment. The tensile strength of the composites approached a certain value when the tensile load during alkaline treatment exceeded a certain percentage. In conclusion, the increase in tensile strength with increasing tensile load during alkaline treatment was attributed to the decrease in yarn twist angle, suggesting that it is not necessary to apply a load exceeding a certain percentage of the breaking load during alkaline treatment.

Keywords

green composites, natural fibre, alkaline treatment, tensile stress