Abstract:
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
538C to 638C. POLYM. COMPOS., 00:000–000, 2015. VC 2015
Society of Plastics Engineers
