Influence of fiber loading on physical and mechanical properties of Himalayan nettle fabric reinforced polyester composite

Himalayan nettle plants (Girardinia diversifolia L.) found in the subtropical Himalayan regions, from Kashmir to Sikkim and state of Uttarakhand, at the height between 1200 to 1900 m above sea level. These plants achieve a normal height up to 4-6 m. The fibers extracted from the plant are traditionally used in many applications like ropes; fishing nets; sacking; clothes (scarves, stoles and cushion covers); woven place mates and rugs. This fiber can be utilized as reinforcement in composite materials. In the present work Himalayan nettle fabric reinforced polyester composite materials were prepared in a laboratory by using hand layup technique. The influence of fiber loading (5wt. %, 10wt. %, 15wt. % and 20wt. %) on physico-mechanical properties of composite materials was experimentally investigated as per the ASTM standards. It has been found that the composite panel made of fiber loading of 15 wt. % showed optimum values among all composite samples. The maximum tensile strength (30.69 MPa), impact strength (10.66 Joule) and minimum specific wear rate (0.0199 mm(3)/Nm) were obtained for composite material with 15wt. % fiber loading. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the nettle fabric composites suggest that the thermal degradation was occurred in three stages. The major mass losses occur in second stage. The nettle fiber composite is thermally stable beyond 460 degrees C. The results obtained are in consistent with the reported literature. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.