Fabrication and performance of natural fibers: Sansevieria cylindrica, waste silk, jute and drumstick vegetable fibres (Moringa Oleifera) reinforced with rubber/polyester composites

Aim of this work was to investigate the tensile, flexural and dielectric properties of composites made by reinforcing Sansevieria cylindrica as a new natural fibre into a rubber based polyester matrix. The fibres extracted by retting and manual processes were used to fabricate the composites. These composites were tested for the properties which mentioned above and compared with those of established composites like waste silk, drumstick vegetable fiber and jute made under the ASTM conditions. The composites were fabricated up to a maximum volume fraction of fibre of 0.35 for impact testing, tensile, flexural and dielectric testing. It was observed that the tensile properties were increased with respect to volume fraction of fibre for Sansevieria cylindrica fibre composite and are also more than those of silk and drumstick composites and comparable to those of jute composites. The flexural strength of Sansevieria cylindrica fibre composite is more than that of waste silk composite and is closer to drumstick fibre composite with respect to the volume fraction of fibre, where as the flexural modulus is much higher than those of jute, drumstick vegetable fibre composites and also very much closer to silk fibre composites. The dielectric strength of Sansevieria cylindrica fibre composite was increased with increase in volume fraction of fibre in the composite unlike the case of waste silk, jute and drumstick tree vegetable fibre composites. The dielectric strength being a unique feature of Sansevieria cylindrica fibre composite can be suggested for electrical insulation applications. © 2011 Universal Research Publications. All rights reserved