Enhancing Sustainability: Jute Fiber-Reinforced Bio-Based Sandwich Composites for Use in Battery Boxes

Abstract

The rising industrial demand for environmentally friendly and sustainable materials has shifted the attention from synthetic to natural fibers. Natural fibers provide advantages like affordability, lightweight nature, and renewability. Jute fibers’ substantial production potential and cost-efficiency have propelled current research in this field. In this study, the mechanical behavior (tensile, flexural, and interlaminar shear properties) of plasma-treated jute composite laminates and the flexural behavior of jute fabric-reinforced sandwich composites were investigated. Non-woven mat fiber (MFC), jute fiber (JFC), dried jute fiber (DJFC), and plasma-treated jute fiber (TJFC) composite laminates, as well as sandwich composites consisting of jute fabric bio-based unsaturated polyester (UPE) composite as facing material and polyethylene terephthalate (PET70 and PET100) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as core materials were fabricated to compare their functional properties. Plasma treatment of jute composite laminate had a positive effect on some of the mechanical properties, which led to an improvement in Young’s modulus (7.17 GPa) and tensile strength (53.61 MPa) of 14% and 8.5%, respectively, as well as, in flexural strength (93.71 MPa) and flexural modulus (5.20 GPa) of 24% and 35%, respectively, compared to those of JFC. In addition, the results demonstrated that the flexural properties of jute sandwich composites can be significantly enhanced by incorporating PET100 foams as core materials.

Performance and Life Cycle Assessment of Composites Reinforced with Natural Fibers and End-of-Life Textiles

“…Subsequently, a highly permeable layer was placed atop the fabrics, and the entire assembly was encased in a vacuum bag, securely sealed against the mold. The infusion of epoxy resin, which was premixed with a curing agent, into the layers was facilitated under vacuum pressure [28]. The composite was then left to cure for a period of 24 h at the ambient temperature.…”

“…The density of the laminate was determined by dividing the laminate's mass by its volume. infusion of epoxy resin, which was premixed with a curing agent, into the layers was facilitated under vacuum pressure [28]. The composite was then left to cure for a period of 24 h at the ambient temperature.…”

“…where F abs represents the interlaminar shear strength in N/mm 2 ; P m is the breaking load in N; and b and h are the width and depth of the specimen in mm, respectively [28]. To ensure the reliability of the results and obtain an average outcome, four uniform specimens from each of the FF and F/RPA composite laminates underwent testing, in addition to five specimens of F/RPES laminates.…”