Morphology and mechanical properties of sisal fibre/vinyl ester composites

Sisal fibres were subjected to a 2 % sodium hydroxide solution treatment for 2, 5 and 8 h at 35 °C. Change in chemical composition of the alkali treated fibres in comparison to that of the untreated fibres was evaluated. Fibres were characterized with respect to its FTIR, linear density, crystallinity, tenacity, modulus and % breaking strain. Tenacity of the fibres increased initially and then decreased as the time of alkali treatment was increased. Modulus of elasticity of the fibres increased with increase in alkali treatment time. Fibres lost breaking strain (%) gradually with increase in treatment time. Variation in mechanical properties of composites was studied with respect to the duration time of alkali treatment of fibres. The failure mode was particularly investigated before and after treatment for better understanding of the effect of alkali treatment.