Natural fibre composites are a fast growing research area, with many observable research branches. In this thesis, studies into natural fibre composites are undertaken. This includes work into the base fibre mechanical properties, pre-processing techniques and the influence of alkalisation and silanation, both common fibre processing methods used to improve interfacial properties. The effects of these pre-processing techniques were also evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). It was observed that the processing had shown definite signs of altering the surface functional groups. For the studies into the base fibre strengths, it was found that natural fibres are highly variable. with the testing complicated by difficulties in measuring cross sectional areas. It was also found that natural fibres are sensitive to moisture, which affects their mechanical properties somewhat, although no conclusive trends were derived.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:501684 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Symington, Mark C. |
| Publisher | University of Strathclyde |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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