Processing and mechanical properties of natural fibre recycled polymer composites

Due to increasing awareness and interest in environment sustainability, coupled with the implementation of recycling rules, the natural fibre composites are highly researched on for applications in several industries, especially in automobiles. In this report, natural fibre thermoplastic composites will be investigated, with flax fibres as the reinforcement material and modified recycled Polycarbonate (PC) as the matrix. The modification of recycled PC, by blending with Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), is required to improve processing ability with flax fibres. To assess the suitability of the blends, viscosities, thermal and mechanical properties of the blends are characterized and compared with the constituent materials. Unidirectional (UD) natural fibre composites are fabricated with these polymer blends and flexural tests are carried out in both longitudinal and transverse directions of the UD composites to study the mechanical and interfacial adhesion properties.Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering