Effect of Chitosan Particle Addition on the Tensile and Flexural Strength of Coir Fiber Reinforced Polyester Composites

The influence of chitosan impregnation on the tensile and flexural strength of the short coir fiber reinforced polyester composites were studied in this investigation. The chitosan fillers were dispersed in polyester matrix, and laminates were prepared by reinforcing coir fibers in chitosan –polyester matrix. The composites were fabricated by varying filler content, fiber content and fiber length in three levels and their influence on tensile and flexural strength of the composites were studied. The composites with fiber length 30 mm, filler content 4% and fiber content 25% showed better values tensile (23 MPa) and at the same time the flexural strength (28MPa) of the composite was observed to be better with fiber length 30 mm, filler content 4 % and fiber content 25%.