Jute Fiber Reinforced Biocomposite: Towards Developing Composite Bone Plate

Bone fractures are often treated with metallic bone plates which are inherited some fundamental issues such as stress shielding, bone atrophy, heavyweight, corrosion, and so on. This work aims to develop a jute epoxy composite to investigate its feasibility to use as a composite bone plate. In this work, the natural fiber-based composite made of jute extracted from the jute plant and epoxy resin obtained from LAPOX® METALAM - B is studied experimentally. The mechanical properties such as tensile, compressive, and bending strength of jute/epoxy composite were measured using the universal testing machine (UTM). Moisture absorption test and scanning electron microscope (SEM) image analysis were also performed. The preliminary results suggest that the jute/epoxy composite could be a potential material for a composite bone plate. However, further detailed studies are required to confirm its applicability as a composite bone plate.


Introduction
The usage of synthetic items is on the rise, which might lead to greater pollution that harms both living things and the environment.Researchers in academia and industry working on developing sustainable products which are paying close attention to natural fiber-based products because of their minimal carbon footprint.As natural fiber is extracted from plants and animals, it is a renewable source for product manufacturing industries.However, these fibers alone are not compatible for usage.It needs to be added with another polymer to bind and make it applicable for different purposes.Recently, there has been a resurgence in research interest in the jute plant, one of the more widely used natural fibers.Natural fiber can be used as biomaterials [1].Bone plate is a biomaterial where lots of work has been done by using different natural fibers [2], [3].In this research work, jute fabric, a naturally renewable and lignocellulosic fiber, was employed as a reinforcing material and Epoxy resin was used as a polymer matrix.Epoxy resin is a thermoset plastic.Here the demonstration of jute fabric is done by finding their mechanical properties, moisture absorption, and microscopic analysis.This research work aims to reveal the potentiality of natural fiber jute.

Materials and Methods
In this study, LAPOX® METALAM -B, a registered trademark of Atul Ltd is used as epoxy resin.It is a components epoxy coating system that is modified.Both resin and hardener are clear, transparent liquid which is used in a 2:1 ratio.According to ASTM D792, the density of the resin is 1-1.2 g/cc, and the hardener is 09.5-1 g/cc.The viscosities of the hardener and resin, respectively, are 300-600 m Pas and 800-1200 m Pas, as stated in ASTM D2196.This epoxy can be cured at room temperature within about 24 hours depending on the ambient temperature.As fiber reinforcement, jute fiber is used in the form of woven fabric.Jute is composed of 61-73% Cellulose, 13.6-23% Hemi-cellulose, 12-16% lignin, small pectin, fats, and waxes.The jute for fabrication is used in the woven form.The thickness of the woven jute fabric is 0.2 mm.Furthermore, the type of the weave is plain.In Figure 3 the used woven jute fabric is presented.

Figure 3. Woven Jute Fabric
The Hand Lay Up method is used to fabricate the jute fiber reinforced biocomposite.4 Layers of woven jute fabrics are stacked into the mold and cured at room temperature.Resin is poured into the mold simultaneously while stacking the layers of jute.While pouring the resin, it is tried to wet all the fiber of the jute fabric.Natural fiber (Jute) and matrix (epoxy resin) are combined in this production process and then put into an open mold (Figure 4).The roller is used to exert little pressure [6].The weight fraction of jute fiber-reinforced composite material was 10%.

Experimental Study
To create composites with enhanced and specialized properties, natural fibers are added to polymeric materials.A lot of multiple parameters and factors are related to enhancing the properties.Sometimes walking the wrong way can cause property to deteriorate.In Figure 5 those parameters have shown that influence mechanical performance.In this research work, the tensile, compression, and bending tests were done.All the test specimen was fabricated individually to ensure the proper arrangement (figure 4. c).For fabrication, the mold was prepared by using a 3d printer.So, the mold is a plastic material to get the proper specimen size.All the mechanical properties are tested in a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) which is a 100 KN hydraulic machine.To get the perfect data 3 pieces of the same specimen were tested.The average value for the specimen is summed up in Table 1.

Figure 5. Factors affecting composites made of natural fibers [7]
3.1.Tensile Test: The interfacial bonding of the fiber with the matrix, the types of weaving patterns, and the fabric configurations all affect the composite laminate's tensile behavior.According to ASTM D-3039, the test specimen of jute fiber reinforced composite is made.For this, the size of the jute composite was 250*25*2.5mm3.By this test, Young's modulus and tensile strength were found.(1)

Compression Test:
The test specimen for compression was carried out as per the ASTM D-3410 standard.The specimen size was 155*25*3.17mm3 to measure the compression properties.Mechanical Testing in UTM is portrayed in Figure 6.

Water Absorption Rate/ Moisture Absorption
The proportion of weight growth calculated by the water absorbed by the composite sample to the composite sample's dry weight.The moisture absorption behavior of produced specimens was examined to forecast the stability of constructed composites in a moist environment.Two identical rectangular specimens were created to assess the water absorption properties of the composites.The sample was stored in an industrial oven at 70°C for around 24 hours before the test.Then the sample was immersed in distilled water at 250C.The samples that had been immersed were periodically taken out of the water and weighed to measure weight changes.The following equation 1 was used to compute the moisture absorption rate in percentage.In Figure 7 the weight of moisture content (gm) Vs the 7 days graph is shown.
The Moisture Absorption Content, Here,   -The mass of the wet sample at a specific time  tends immersion   -The mass of the dry sample at the initial time.

Figure 7. Moisture Content absorption rate
The procedure of examining the moisture content was continued for 7 days to get the water absorption rate by jute-reinforced composite material.In the following Figure 7, the weight change and absorption rate are presented graphically.The mean value of moisture absorption content is 9.95%.

Flammability Test
A thermal gun is used to measure the temperature of the test material.A gas burner is used to produce flame and burn the test specimen.In between the thermal gun and gas burner, the woven jute composite is placed.The setup is shown in Figure 8.The temperature data (figure 8) is recorded in 15second intervals after starting the burning procedure.

Microstructure
The fibers and their surface morphologies are apparent in Figure 10 at a 500µm magnification.The main elements influencing the decrease in strength in fiber-reinforced composites are the adherence of the fibers to the matrix, the organization of the fibers, their distribution, and their orientation, as well as the existence of air spaces.It is observed and analyzed in the Scanning electron microscope.It is also seen that all the fibers are wetted by the polymer matrix.Two SEM images are represented below.One is the cross-section of the composite to evaluate the fiber matrix bond, wettability, etc. and the other one is the surface which was drilled by a CNC to see the condition of the composite after machining.

Application of Natural fiber Composite
Natural fiber-reinforced composites are rapidly emerging as viable alternatives to metal or ceramic materials in various industries, including automotive, marine, aerospace, sporting goods, and electronics.Natural fibers possess favorable specific properties; however, their properties exhibit high variability.In the United States, straw is being utilized as a composite building material in construction projects.The automotive sector already incorporates natural composites, predominantly comprising polyester or polypropylene, and fibers such as hemp, flax, jute, or sisal, in the production of various components.The use of natural fibers in the industry is primarily driven by factors such as cost, weight reduction, and marketing considerations, rather than purely technical requirements.Germany stands out as a leading user of natural fiber composites, with renowned automakers like Audi, Mercedes Benz, and Volkswagen incorporating natural composites in both interior and exterior applications.For instance, jute-based composites find utility in structural applications, particularly indoor elements in housing.Coir/polyester composites have been employed in manufacturing mirror casings, projector covers, helmets, voltage stabilizers, and roofs.The aircraft industry has also embraced natural fiber composites for interior paneling.These composites have found diverse applications in electronic devices, packaging, marine railings, and sports goods, replacing synthetic fibers.Nonetheless, natural fiber composites present certain drawbacks, including moisture absorption, restricted processing temperature, and variable quality, which limit their overall performance.Nevertheless, they can serve as bone plates in medical applications.Natural fiber-based biomaterials offer cost advantages while delivering favorable outcomes.Jute is a potential member of natural fiber.According to an article published in the University of Cambridge, the tensile strength of bone is 50-70 MPa and compressive strength is 70-280 MPa [8].If the natural fiber-based composite material reaches those values, then it may be used as a bone plate.

Result and Discussion
We found that the tensile, compression, and bending strengths are 50 MPa, 39.75 MPa, 127.33 MPa respectively whereas from the literature the tensile and flexural strengths were 12.  MPa respectively.The Young's modulus of this analysis is 2.25 GPa on the other hand the literature showed that the value would be 0. 255-0.1985 GPa [9].The reason behind this contrast is the fabrication parameter.In that research work the thickness of the jute fabric was 0.42mm and 0.44mm.There the tensile strength value for 0.42 mm fabric was higher than the composite material where 0.44mm fabric was used.In our research work, we used 0.2 mm jute fabric and got more higher value.So, it can be said that in both works the trend of different mechanical properties are same, and can be assumed that the found flexural strength was accurate as the other mechanical strength seems to be correct.Moreover, we used 4 layers of jute fabric which covers almost 10% of the total weight of the jute-reinforced composite material.The fabricated composite material's water absorption rate is 9.95%.The flammability test shows that the composite material is flammable.

Conclusions
The jute composite was studied as a potential implant material for the treatment of bone fractures.It can be inferred from this analysis that the tensile strength is almost identical to that of cancellous bone.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Chemical Composition of Jute.The microfibrillar angle is approximately 80 [4].The physical properties vary for jute fabric due to the wrap and weft direction of the woven.Approximately the tensile strength is 11-15 MPa and strain to failure is 4.58-9.5%.The chemical formula and composition pie chart are addressed in Figure 2 [5].The jute for fabrication is used in the woven form.The thickness of the woven jute fabric is 0.2 mm.Furthermore, the type of the weave is plain.In Figure3the used woven jute fabric is presented. 3

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Fabrication Process of test specimen (a) 4 Layer of Jute Fabric, (b) Hand Lay-up Procedure, (c) Fabrication of Product, (d) Final product.

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Mechanical Properties are tested in UTM

Figure 8 .
Figure 8.The temperature rises with the increase in time It took almost 2 minutes to burn the woven jute composite completely.The thermal gun image is shown in Figure9.For safety purposes, the test is done in an outdoor environment but it is also tried to shield the airflow beside the test region.

Figure 9 .
Figure 9.The Flammability test (a) Test Setup, (b) Thermal Gun Image

Figure 10 .
Figure 10.SEM image of the cross-sectional area of 10% woven jute composite (a) and a drilled surface of woven jute composite (b)