Abstract
This paper discusses the development of high-strength biodegradable, “green”, cross-ply fabric-reinforced composites. The composites were made using woven Manila hemp fibers as the reinforcement and starch-based emulsion-type biodegradable polymer as the matrix. The mechanical properties of the composites have been evaluated as a function of fiber content (20 to 75mass%). The experimental results indicate that the composites show the flexural and tensile strength of 104MPa and 153MPa, respectively. Both of tensile and flexural modulus and flexural strength increased with increasing the fiber content. However, the tensile strength increased with the fiber content till 50mass% and remained constant thereafter. This dependence on the fiber content is due to the decrease in fiber strength caused by fiber damages introduced during hot-pressing.
