Assessing Inter-yarn Frictional Behavior of Jute Fabrics Impregnated with Corn Flour Particles-Based Shear Thickening Fluids

Abstract Recently naturally driven fabrics are gaining more attention to develop impact-resistive fabrics due to their cost-effectiveness and environment-friendly nature. The effectiveness of jute fabrics becomes more prominent when used with shear thickening fluids (STFs). The present study is focused on the assessment of inter-yarn frictional behavior of jute fabrics impregnated with natural corn flour particles-based STFs. The varying amount of corn flour particles of 10 and 13 µm were blended with deionized water, glycerol, and polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) to synthesize STFs. To the best of our knowledge, first time the stability and rheological performance of corn flour particles-based STFs under varying shear rates in different dispersion mediums have been investigated. The peak viscosity of STF consisting 50% particles (10 µm) in glycerol was found significantly higher compared to the STF consisting same size and concentration of particles with deionized water. The yarn pull-out test was conducted to evaluate the materials’ inter-yarn frictional resistance behavior. The maximum pulling force was observed for jute fabric impregnated with glycerol-based STF. Thus, the developed STFs can be vital for developing better impact-resistive fabrics.