Application of Jute Fibre in Reinforcement

Reinforcement: 

Reinforcement is a consequence that will strengthen an organism's future behaviour. This strengthening results may be measured as a higher frequency of behaviour, longer duration, greater magnitude, eco-friendly and also economic.

Recently, Jute fibre is being used as a reinforcement material in the development of reinforced plastics, concretes and geo-textiles for various engineering applications. Its biodegradability, low cost, and moderate mechanical properties make it a preferable reinforcement material in the development of polymer matrix composites. Therefore, Jute Fibre Reinforced Concrete (JFRC) materials have replaced the most widely used synthetic fibre (glass, Kevlar) reinforced composites in many applications.

Jute

Jute is one of the most affordable natural vegetable fibers that grows abundantly in Bangladesh is popular for its  variety of uses. It falls into the Bast Fiber category along with kenaf, industrial hemp, flax (linen), ramie, etc. The industrial term for jute fiber is Raw jute. The fibers are off-white to brown, and 1–4 metres (3–13 feet) long. Jute is also called the golden fiber for its color and high cash value.

Harvesting Jute plants

Compositions:

 Jute fibers are composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose and lignin.

Chemical modification of jute fiber:

Before applying the jute fibre at the purpose of reinforcement, it has to be chemically treated. From the polar chemical nature and structure of natural fiber it appears that such fibers can interact with polar nature of cement concrete. This concept justifies the reinforcing action of jute in cement concrete.(read more)

Chemicals lead for modification:

• Jute fibers, 
• Analytical grade sodium hydroxide (NaOH) 
• Commercially available carboxylate styrene-butadiene copolymer based polymer latex (Sika Polymer latex Power).

Production Steps

The four major steps in the production of JFRC are fibre preparation, mixing of
ingredients, placing and curing. 
 requires a minimum of skilled labour
and utilizes the readily available local materials. However, proper attention
should be paid to the quality control of materials and construction.

Applications:

JFRC products like sheets (both plain and corrugated) and boards are light in

weight and are ideal for use as roofing and ceiling, and as wall panels for the

construction of low-cost housing. Their special usages include applications

where energy absorption is the primary requirement or where impact damage is

likely to occur such as shatter and earthquake resistant construction. Other conventional applications include rafts and beams for cellular foundation, electric pole,

pavement tiles, slabs, sewer concrete pipes and various types of shell structures. All potential

applications of JFRC depend, of course, on the ingenuity of the designers and

the builders taking advantage of the static and dynamic strength parameters,

energy-absorbing characteristics, material Performance properties.

Every year some areas in Bangladesh are badly affected by river erosion. For which thousands of houses and cultivable lands undergo river. We can protect our river embankments by using Geo Textiles.
TheUse of JFRC  may help to a great extent in providing low-cost housing in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region like Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia
and Thailand where jute fibres are abundantly available. It requires only a
low degree of mechanisation and a small number of trained workers. The use of
such building materials is particularly attractive to these countries because of
their shortage of capital and skilled manpower. This will also avoid draining of hard-earned foreign exchange and alleviate unemployment problems. 

Written by

Subir Kar

Dept. of Textile Engineering

4^th Batch

National Institute of Textile Engineering and Research (NITER)

Share :

Tweet

More

Related Post