Properties of Pultruded Jute Fiber Reinforced Unsaturated Polyester Composites

This paper deals with an experimental study on the properties of pultruded jute fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester composite (PJFRC). The ratio of fiber to matrix is approximately 70:30 by volume. Compression and flexural testing were performed in order to study the mechanical properties while TMA and DMTA were used to study the thermal properties of the composites. Morphological aspects of the composites were also evaluated using an optical and scanning electron microscope. Compression and flexural stress–strain curves showed a linear portion at initial loading phase followed by yield and plastic deformation. For the DMTA evaluation it was found that the storage modulus is strongly dependent on temperature and degrades with increasing temperature. The TMA result showed a contraction of composite upon heating instead of expansion. The acid digestion test result confirmed that the fiber content was approximately 70% by volume.