Abstract:
Natural fibres have been outstanding materials which are feasible and amble substitute for
expensive, non-bio degradable and non-renewable synthetic materials so these organic/natural
fibres can be used as replacement for synthetic fibers for various applications. Cryogenic
treatment is a type of heat treatment process applied to materials at low temperatures in which
fiber is treated at cryogenic temperatures, at this low temperature conditions, materials showcase
some physiochemical changes The main objective of these works is to conduct cryogenic
treatment on hemp fiber and to study the effect of cryogenic treatment on thermal, mechanical
and water absorption properties of hemp fiber reinforced epoxy composite panels. Physical
properties such as functional groups of fabrics were studied and compared using Fourier
Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). It shows treatment on fiber have substantially
increased the number of hydrogen bonding in cellulose, which lead to increase in stiffness of the
fabric. The thermal behaviour of untreated and treated hemp fiber was studied using the
techniques of thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermo gravimetric analysis
(DTG). It is observed that after cryogenic treatment, hemp fiber's thermal stability has been
significantly enhanced. Mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural strength of
Hemp/epoxy panels are studied under untreated and cryogenic treated condition and the result
show improvement in mechanical properties under cryogenic treatment. Improvement in
mechanical properties was observed in cryogenic treated hemp composite due to increased
frictional bond in the composite interface. Thermal conductivity of panels was measured using
guarded hot plate method and the results shows decrease in thermal conductivity after cryogenic
treatment. Water absorption rate of the fiber increases with time due to hygroscopic nature of
fiber.Cryogenic treated hemp fiber shows 12% reduction in percentage of water absorption
compared to untreated hemp fiber. These findings indicate hemp fabric as an alternative bio degradable material with greater thermal stability and physical qualities than synthetic materials
for engineering applications
