Characteristics of Continuous Unidirectional Silk Fibre Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Bombyx mori silk fibre has some prominent features such as high ductility and strength due to its high crystallinity in molecular structure. This research aims to characterise and evaluate the mechanical and water absorption properties of continuous unidirectional silk fibre reinforced epoxy composites with various fibre loading (0 to 30 wt.%). The silk fibre was obtained through degumming treatment of silk cocoon using 1 wt.% of sodium bicarbonate solution. The composites materials were prepared using the hand lay-up method. The silk fibre reinforced epoxy composites with 30 wt.% of fibre loading acquired the highest value of tensile, flexural, and impact properties. The impact fracture of the composites was analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The SEM micrographs of composites reveal that the presence of pull-out fibres and matrix cracking was less with increasing fibre loading, indicating the improvement of interfacial bonding between fibre and matrix. The water absorption study shows that water absorption properties increased with increasing fibre loading.