On the Measurement of Cross-Sectional Area of Natural Fibers

Abstract

The measurement of cross-sectional area of natural fibers is fundamental in the determination of their mechanical properties. Several authors investigated the mechanical behavior of natural fibers and reported, for samples of same species, different values for tensile strength and elastic modulus. This variability can be due to many factors, such as plant variability, damage during processing or cutting, testing conditions and accuracy. This work presents a method for the measurement of cross-sectional area natural fibers that guarantees the dimensional integrity of the fiber and in which the measurement is performed on a plane perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. It comprises sample preparation, image acquisition on a reflected light microscope, and image analysis using the open source software Fiji/ImageJ. The method was applied to curaua, hemp, and sisal samples.

The Influence of Microcrystalline and Nanofibrillated Cellulose in XSBR Polymers on the Mechanical Properties of Jute Textile-Reinforced Cementitious Composites

“…The microsized area was obtained by following the method described elsewhere [7]. An adapted version of the method developed by Gomes et al [18] was performed, with the images processed in an open source image processing package based on ImageJ2 [20]. An Everhart-Thornley back-scattered electron detector was used to calculate the fibers' cross-sections; each cross-section area comprised the sum of fibers cross-section in a yarn.…”

Degradation mechanisms of curaua, hemp, and sisal fibers exposed to elevated temperatures

“…The fiber microstructure was investigated using an FEI Quanta 400 scanning electron microscope (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hillsboro, OR, USA). For the dimensional analysis, the samples were prepared by cold embedding in epoxy resin (Gomes et al 2018). A solid resin block 30 mm in diameter and approximately 12 mm in height was drilled with a 1.5 mm diameter drill to create 15 holes, in which 10 mm length fiber samples were carefully placed, as illustrated in Fig.…”