To prepare for composites processing, the polypropylene
films were stacked between three layers of
fibres spread as randomly as possible, except in the case
of hemp and jute that were delivered in random mat
form. Each layer of fibres was prepared by evenly
spreading the fibres on a 30 cm 30 cm wooden frame.
The material was then wrapped in an aluminium foil. It
was preheated in an oven at 140 C for 20 min to reduce
the moisture present and to encourage faster and uniform
heating of the material. The composites were made
by pressing the material between hot plates of a compression
moulding press at 180 C for 2 min at 5 bar
pressure on the material. Cooling was done under the
same pressure by placing the composite between the two
cold plates of the press for 3 min. All the composites
were processed at 40% fibre weight fraction. Kenaf fibre
composites were additionally processed at 30 and 50%
fibre weight fractions to investigate the effect of fibre
content on the mechanical properties of the composites.