CHARACTERIZATION OF SISAL FIBERS THERMAL PROPERTIES BY PHOTOACOUSTIC TECHNIQUE

摘要

Natural fibers are attracting the interest of engineering sectors owing to specific advantages such as lightweight and lower cost as well as for their inherent condition of being renewable, biodegradable, recyclable and neutral with respect to CO_2 emission. In particular, the fiber extracted from the sisal plant leaf is nowadays recognized as one of the strongest lignocellulosic fibers. However, the thermal properties of the sisal fibers have not yet been fully investigated. The present work had as its objective to investigate, by photoacoustic spectroscopy and photothermal techniques the thermal properties of diffusivity, specific heat capacity and conductivity of a pressed sisal fibers sample. The results revealed that these fibers showed a superior thermal insulation capacity.