Production of natural fiber reinforced biopolymer composite and investigation of its wear properties

In this study, composite materials prepared with renewable and biodegradable Polylactic Acid (PLA) were reinforced by adding various natural fibers. The fibers included loofah, flax, jute, hemp, bamboo and silk, and the integration of these fibers into the PLA matrix was carried out by heat treatment and cold press techniques. In the studies, the fiber ratios were adjusted as 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% by weight, the composites were heat treated at 250°C for 1 hour and 30 minutes and then formed by cold press method. At the end of the study, the wear resistance and surface properties of the composite samples were examined by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) method. The analyzes performed showed that the wear performance of composite materials improved significantly depending on the variety and ratios of natural fibers in their content. According to the results obtained, pumpkin and silk fibers stood out as the fibers that increased the wear performance of the composites at the highest level. The wear resistance and strength of PLA composites reinforced with bamboo fiber gave the best results. On the other hand, in PLA composites reinforced with jute fiber, due to the low heat resistance of jute fiber, surface coating and accumulation were observed, which led to a decrease in wear performance. Flax and hemp fibers also showed good performance, but did not offer as high abrasion resistance as pumpkin and silk. PLA composites reinforced with hemp fiber showed moderate performance. As a result, pumpkin and silk fibers were determined to be the fibers that provided the highest wear performance in PLA matrix composites. These findings reveal the potential of composites obtained by using natural fibers in PLA matrix in various industrial applications.