Studies on the Mechanical and Degradation Properties of Jute Fabric-Reinforced Natural Rubber Composite: Effect of Gamma Radiation

Jute fabric-reinforced natural rubber (NR) based composites were produced by compression molding. Tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), elongation at break (Eb) bending strength (BS), bending modulus (BM), and softness of the composite were 30 MPa, 395 MPa, 65%, 10 MPa, 2130 MPa, and 79 Shore-A, respectively. Degradation nature of the composite was investigated in soil and aqueous medium. To improve the compatibility between fiber and matrix, the composites were irradiated with gamma rays. Total radiation dose varied from 50 to 1000 krad. Tensile properties of the irradiated (250 krad) composites improved significantly (TS and TM increased 47% and 147%).