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The chemical resistance of the glass/bamboo fibers reinforced polyester composites to acetic acid, sodium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, sodium carbonates, benzene, toluene, carbon tetrachloride, and water was studied. The hybrid fiber composites showed better resistance to these chemicals. Besides this, the tensile properties of glass/bamboo fibers reinforced polyester hybrid composites were studied. The effect of alkali treatment of the bamboo fibers on these properties was also studied. It was observed that tensile properties of the hybrid composites increased with glass fiber content. These properties were found to be higher when alkali treated bamboo fibers were used in the hybrid composites. The elimination of amorphous hemi-cellulose with alkali treatment leading to higher crystallinity of the bamboo fibers may be responsible for these observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanical and water absorption behavior of the bamboo--glass mat (strand and woven) reinforced epoxy and polyester laminate composites are studied. The hybridization with glass mat increases the mechanical and water resistant properties of the hybrid composites. The increase in properties is higher in the woven glass mat reinforced hybrid composites compared to the strand mat. For both the epoxy and polyester matrix composites, when two layers of strand glass mat were used the mechanical properties increase, but with three layers it shows a decrease in value. Whereas, with woven glass mat reinforcement the mechanical properties increase as the number of glass mat layer is increased. Addition of glass fiber results in reduction of water absorption by the epoxy and polyester bamboo composites. Water absorption is reduced with increase in the glass fibers in the composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present literature suggests the need for investigating and characterizing the freeze-thaw response of polymer composites under different loading rates and also at ambient and sub-ambient temperatures. The present experiment has been carried out with three different weight fractions (i.e., 0.55, 0.6, and 0.65) of glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites. The short beam shear specimens are suddenly exposed to -80°C for 2 h and then a three-point bend test is conducted instantaneously at this temperature. Another batch of samples is allowed to thaw at ambient temperature for 1 h and tested on flexural mode at ambient temperature. The testing was carried out for a range of 0.5-500mm/min crosshead speed. The shear strengths at cryogenic temperature and thawing temperature are compared with the room temperature-tested data of the shear value of laminates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation of glass fiber-reinforced polyester composite by hydrothermal shock cycles is studied experimentally. The interface/interphase in glass fiber composites is assumed to be a polymer film, thus, it may be susceptible to perish through environmental shock. Glass fibers of 55, 60, and 65 wt% are used to fabricate polyester matrix polymer composites. The test specimens are first treated in a water bath of 50 °C for 30 min and then immediately immersed in another water bath at 100°C for the same time. The treatment is repeated for different cycles. The short beam shear (SBS) test is performed at room temperature on the conditioned samples for two different crosshead speeds (2 and 50mm/min). The objective of the experiment is to assess the deteriorative effect of hydrothermal shock on the interfacial bonding of varied weight fraction constituents in the composite. The fiber-matrix interfacial damage is reflected in the three-point SBS test. The fall in shear values is observed to be 19-27%, depending on the volume fraction of constituents. The variation in loading speeds is taken into consideration for the assessment of interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]