Effect of Fiber Content and Post Stress on Moisture Absorption of Jute Polyester Composite

Polymer composites have gained much more attention because of their lightweight, low cost, ease of fabrication, corrosion resistance, wear property etc. In this regard, natural fiber became very popular because of its biodegradability. The moisture absorption of the natural fiber reinforced polymer composites, however, causes many adverse effects on their mechanical properties as well as on long-term performance. This moisture absorbing tendency limits their uses in many engineering applications also. In this research work jute polyester composites containing 5, 10 and 15wt% jute fiber were fabricated in hand lay-up method applying various post-stress conditions and then moisture absorption tests were carried out on prepared samples. It has been found that for unstressed composites, water absorption increased linearly with increasing jute fiber content. Interestingly, with an increase in post-stress, water absorption decreased. In this regard, better results were found for composites containing a higher proportion of jute fibers.