Fabrication and Characterization of Jute Fabric-Reinforced PVC-based Composite:

Jute fabrics (hessian cloth) reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based composites were prepared by compression molding. Jute content varied from 40–60 wt% in the composites. Four layers of jute fabrics were compression molded with five layers of PVC. It was found that the composite containing 40% jute fabrics showed the best performance. The values of tensile strength (TS), bending strength (BS), tensile modulus (TM), and bending modulus (BM) of the composite (40 wt% jute fabrics) were found to be 59.3 MPa, 62.6 MPa, 1.3 GPa, and 3.2 GPa, respectively. The values of TS and BS were improved to 77% and 46%, respectively, compared to the matrix material PVC. Scanning electron microscopic analysis was carried out to investigate the interfacial properties of the composites. Degradation tests of the composites (up to 6 months) were performed in soil medium and showed partial degradation nature.