Studies on the Mechanical and Degradation Properties of Composites Using Acacia Catechu, Jute and Polypropylene

Catechu is a natural and biodegradable polymer. It is made up of catechin, tannic acid etc. The composites by using Acacia catechu, jute and polypropylene were fabricated by compression molding process. Jute fabrics (hessian cloth) reinforced polypropylene (1:1) composites as well as the jute fabrics soaked with different types catechu reinforced polypropylene composites were fabricated by compression molding. The mechanical properties like tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), percentage of elongation at break (%Eb), impact strength (IS) and hardness of fabrics, polypropylene, and composites were measured. The TS, TM, %Eb, and IS of jute fabrics reinforced polypropylene composites were found 51.4MPa, 1416.75MPa, 14.29%, and 18Kj/m2. After adding different types of catechu, the mechanical properties ware decreased with increasing soaking time. The degradation of different types of composites in soil medium was measured. Soaked with soft resin for 5 min jute fabrics reinforced polypropylene composites showed lowest mechanical properties and highest degradation. The TS, TM, %Eb, IS and hardness of jute fabrics (soaked with soft catechu resin for 5 min) reinforced polypropylene composites were found 32.26MPa, 380MPa, 17.14%, 28Kj/m2 and 95 shores A. The TS of this composite decreased 53.57% after 6 weeks degradation. For the fiber and matrix adhesion analysis, the scanning electron microscopic images were taken