Thermal, static, and dynamic mechanical properties of bark cloth (ficus brachypoda) laminar epoxy composites

Bark cloth is a natural nonwoven fibrous fabric produced in Uganda from three species of trees: Ficus natalensis, Ficus brachypoda, and Antiaris toxicaria. The recently developed bark cloth composites has created a new class of textile composites which can find applications in interior automotive panels. Four bark cloth plies were utilized, the resin was infused using Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM). Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to study the fabric's fiber morphology, surface functional groups were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared. Overall, the static and the Dynamical mechanical analysis showed that the developed composites had a tensile strength ranging from 22 to 29 MPa whereas the flexural strength ranging from 45 to 100 MPa. The glass transition temperature of the composites was ranging from 53°C to 63°C. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:199–204, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers