Preparation and mechanical properties of plain jute rope fabric reinforced polylactic acid composites

The biodegradable natural jute threads (JT) were braided into jute flag ropes (JFR) by a flag braiding machine first. Then, JT and JFR were woven into plain-woven jute thread fabrics (JTF) and jute flag rope fabrics (JFRF), respectively, by using a dobby loom. Subsequently, JTF and JFRF were impregnated with polylactic acid (PLA) resin to become JTF/PLA and JFRF/PLA composites, respectively. These JTF/PLA and JFRF/PLA composites are biodegradable. The tensile, compressive, and bending characteristics of these composites were examined by a material test system (MTS 810). In addition, the impact properties of these composites were evaluated by an Izod tester. The experimental results show that the braiding technique strengthened the jute ropes. The JFRF/PLA composite has high tensile strength, compressive modulus, bending modulus, and impact resistance