Characteristic study of intra woven green fibers for structural application

Abstract The current study uses three engineered fibres: white flax, brown flax, and jute fibres to form plain intra-woven fabrics. The fabrics were alkali treated with a 5 % NaOH solution and mechanical, physical, and thermal tests were conducted to characterize the individual fabrics. It was observed that treated woven fabrics significantly enhanced the overall mechanical strength compared to untreated fabrics. White and brown flax interlaced fabrics increased the tensile strength by 157 % and 574 %, Young’s modulus by 36 % and 26 %, and breaking strain by 58 % and 89 % than jute interlaced brown and white flax, respectively. Thermo-gravimetric analysis revealed that the fabric containing white flax fibre exhibited a maximum degradation temperature of 364.45 °C and after treatment, each fabric revealed a higher degradation temperature. The change in chemical composition of the green fibres after treatment was studied through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis.