Short-term creep of barkcloth reinforced laminar epoxy composites

• Investigated the short-term creep behavior of barkcloth reinforced laminar epoxy composites.
• Presented the effect of fabric pre-treatment with enzyme, plasma and alkali on the creep behavior.
• Studied the effect of advanced layering architecture on the creep behavior of barkcloth composites.

There is a global surge in the application of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites in various industries. Polymer reinforced composites are faced with dimensional instability during their service life, the reason being that the realistic environment of application has got frequency and temperature variables. Therefore, in order to pinpoint the dimensional stability of the composites, creep tests are usually carried out. In this investigation, for the first time, alkali, enzyme, and plasma treated barkcloth reinforced epoxy laminar composites were investigated using dynamic mechanical analysis for the creep behavior between the temperature range of 30 °C–100 °C. The results show that creep is affected by the layering pattern of the laminar composites whereas alkali treatment leads to a higher creep resistance of the composites.

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