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2017, Vol. 46(6) 1393–1411

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DOI: 10.1177/1528083715624258
properties of jute and jit.sagepub.com

hollow conjugated
polyester fibre reinforced
non-woven composite

G Mohamed Zakriya1, G Ramakrishnan2, T Palani Rajan1

and D Abinaya1

Abstract
Sandwich structure of non-woven composite is produced by using a compressive hot
pressing method. It is ranging from 2500 grams per square meter (gsm) to 3500 gsm.
Composite sample is designed using Box and Behnken model. Considering 50–70%
weight of jute fibre content with 30–50% weight of hollow conjugated polyester
fibre, ideal thickness of the composites is maintained in the range from 4 to 5 mm.
Thermal properties such as thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal transmit-
tance and thermal diffusivity were evaluated by considering three factors: weight of jute
(A), weight of hollow conjugated polyester (B) and thickness of the composite (C). The
thermal conductivity of the composite material is determined by heat flow meter
method ASTM C518. Experiment result will help to make a suitable standardized
panel composite for thermal insulation. It requires 3600 gsm 51/49 parts of contribution
of jute/hollow conjugated polyester fibre with 5.0 mm thickness and 3200 gsm 76.5/23.5
parts of contribution of jute/hollow conjugated polyester fibre with 4.5 mm thickness of
the composites. The composite weight of 3280 gsm shown optimized thermal
responses, it was predicted from response surface method graph. Contribution of
jute/hollow conjugated polyester fibre of 54/46 parts with 5.0 mm thickness would be
considered to make standardized composite panel. Mostly air conditioning process
reduces the energy cost spent for the thermal stability in indoor climate of dwellings.

1
Angel College of Engineering and Technology, Tirupur, India
2
Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, India

Corresponding author:
G Mohamed Zakriya, Angel College of Engineering and Technology, Dharapuram Road, Tirupur 641665, India.
Email: mohamedzakriya_razvi@rediffmail.com
1394 Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)

Keywords
Jute, hollow conjugated polyester, weight, thickness, non-woven, composite, thermal
properties

Introduction
Thermal insulation is a process of reducing the heat transfer through the surfaces; it
prevents the cold air or hot air in the outdoor environment from causing temperature
loss or gain in the indoor environments [1]. Day by day new combinations of com-
posites enter into the market to meet the need of thermal insulation, quality, the cost
efficient, eco-friendliness of the product and process of composites insist to take nat-
ural fibres. Generally natural fibres have good specific mechanical properties due to
their low density, short span of renewable resource with low energy consumption and
recyclability [2]. Among natural fibres good thermal insulation is possessed by jute
fibre [3, 4]. It is considered to be a very economical raw material and is available in
India throughout the year. Needle-punched non-woven technology is considered to
be a forward technology; this is very much suitable for the jute industry [5]. Its batting
construction and thickness determine the thermal insulation stuff. Evenly dispersed
void or air present in thick and porous jute fibre is responsible for thermal insulation
on needle-punched non-woven composite. Use of woollenized jute improves the ther-
mal insulation property owing to rise in fibre bulkiness [6]. On the other hand, water
sponginess and 13% of moisture regain significance of jute fibre lead to bulging and
dimensional instability [7]. Adding man-made hollow conjugated polyester (HCP)
with jute fibre will help to overcome the above-mentioned problem.
The word ‘conjugate fibre’ denotes a fibre poised of at least two fibre-arriving
polymeric components. It is arranged in diverse sectors across the cross-section of
the fibre and prominently continuous along the length. The core component has a
softening temperature considerably higher than the softening temperature of the
sheath component. Low melting temperature of sheath fibre would be a key bond-
ing technique to produce a thermo-bonded composite using hot compression press-
ing method [8–10], whereas core of the fibre would not melt and remains in the
hollow form. The core fibre has a duty to upkeep the sheath in its fibrous state [11].
Generally thermo-bonding temperature of Recron fibres (HCP brand name) starts
from 110 C [12].
Commercially available thermal insulation panels are made up of plaster of
Paris, asbestos board, plywood boards, glass materials, ceramic tiles and branded
foam sheet panels. Its thickness is more than 4 mm and weight starts from around
2.5 kg/m2. Further it exceeds more than 40 kg/m2 depending on the material type
and its end uses [13, 14]. Hence in this study, approximately 2.5–3.5 kg/m2 of
weight is considered to produce composite panel. From the literature review, it is
found that jute/HCP combination model has never been taken before to produce
thermal insulation composites. So here initiation starts to investigate the thermal
properties of jute–HCP fibre reinforced non-woven composite with the Box and
Behnken model statistical approach.
Zakriya et al. 1395

Table 1. Properties of HCP and jute fibres.

Properties HCP Jute

Fineness (Denier) 13.8  0.8 20

Density (g/m3) 1.38 1.46
Crimps (Nos./cm) 1.3  0.4 2.0
Moisture regain at 65% RH (%) 0.55 12.55
Tensile strength (MPa) 58 396
Breaking elongation (%) 21.05 1.2
Hollowness (%) 18–22 –

Table 2. Design of composite using Box and Behnken model.

Factor Name Unit Minimum Maximum Coded values Mean Std. dev.
2
A Weight g/m 1250 2450 1 = 1250 1 = 2450 1850 438.17
of jute lap
B Weight g/m2 750 1750 1 = 750 1 = 1750 1250 365.14
of HCP lap
C Thickness mm 4 5 1 = 4 1=5 4.5 0.36

Experimental procedures
Materials
15 Denier HCP fibre having length 64 mm supplied from Reliance industries and 20
Denier Tossa 4 grade woollenized jute having length 40–60 mm supplied from
National Jute Board, Kolkata, were used to prepare the composite sample. Some
important properties of HCP and jute fibres are presented in Table 1.

Methods and design of experiment for composite preparation

To examine the distinct and shared composition effects of jute/HCP fibres lap
weight, thickness of the composite, Box and Behnken [15] factorial design of
three factors was used. Assessment of the responses on or after this factorial
design model is appropriate, only when the independent variables are within the
range for which the model has been developed. Here, factor A and B are taken as
dependent variable and factor C as independent variable. According to this, fab-
rication process controlled over the composite material.
Table 2 displays the coded and actual values of three parameters measured, and
15 arrays of experimental combinations under which the composites produced are
given in Table 3.
1396 Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)

Table 3. Fifteen combinations of samples using coded values.

Weight of jute lap (A) Weight of HCP lap (B) Thickness (C)
Sample no (g/m2) (g/m2) (mm)

S1 1850 1750 5.0

S2 1850 1250 4.5
S3 1850 1750 4.0
S4 1250 750 4.5
S5 2450 1250 4.0
S6 2450 750 4.5
S7 2450 1750 4.5
S8 1850 750 4.0
S9 1250 1750 4.5
S10 2450 1250 5.0
S11 1850 750 5.0
S12 1250 1250 4.0
S13 1850 1250 4.5
S14 1250 1250 5.0
S15 1850 1250 4.5

Composite preparation
Jute fibre 40–60 mm was opened using pilot Trytex card machine at the doffer speed
of 4 r/min. Jute webs in the form of sheet produced near to the width of 1.2 ft.
Similarly, 64 mm HCP individualized stapled fibre web sheets are produced separ-
ately. Randomized fibre arrangement of web was built into HCP–jute–HCP–jute–
HCP sandwich layers to achieve the desired level of (g/m2) gsm by calculating feed
process. Several layers of web were arranged one upon another, as per the design of
experiments made by Box and Behnken model.
Dilo, German made needle punching machine with a working width of
8000–10,000 needles/m and downstroke board were used to prepare the non-
woven material. Needling density maintained at 300 punches/cm2 on the speed
of 257 cycles/min (30 strokes) and 11 mm penetration depth constantly set for
the barbed needle, which had a dimension of 15  18  36  3.5 R/SP.
Compression moulding technique is adopted to make a non-woven composite,
hot pressing temperature 160 C maintained to initiate the thermo-bonding process
of webs and the pressing time is allowed up to 30 min. HCP fibre contains sheath
and core bilayer component in which sheath fibre layer starts its melting from
110 C; core fibre layer’s melting temperature is similar to general polyester fibre
260 C. By varying the pressure level 0.5–0.7 MPa, the thickness of the composites
was decided as 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 mm. After fabrication process, the pressure is
relaxed to collect the sample from the compression moulding device. The thickness
Zakriya et al. 1397

of the composites was ensured with thickness tester, using ASTM D5729 proced-
ure. Under a pressure of 1.55 kPa, which had a 2.54 cm diameter of foot and dial
gauge range starts from 0.01 to 10.0 mm.

Measurement of thermal conductivity and its related derivatives

Steady-state thermal conductivity (l) property determined by heat flow meter [16]
according to ASTM C 518 using a sample size 30.5 cm  30.5 cm, at a temperature of
90 C on the upper plate and 30 C on the lower plate. The inferior plate association is
transportable; hence the composite sample with varying thickness and different com-
position percentage of fibre can be tested [17]. Measuring the heat flow in down
structure direction minimizes the convective heat transmission from end to end by
the permeable insulation materials. Heat transfer in the heat flow meter instrument
mainly occurs due to solid/gas conduction and thermal radiation mechanisms. The
plate temperatures are controlled by bidirectional heating and cooling peltier sys-
tems, which are attached with a closed-loop fluid flow with an incorporated forced
air heat exchanger. Using two heat flux temperature sensor transducers, temperature
was measured by allowing time limit, maintained at 12–14 min for the prepared
sample. The unit measurement of thermal conductivity (l) is W/(m K)

T
Q ¼ lA W=ðmKÞ ð1Þ
L

where,
Q = Heat flow rate, W
l = Thermal conductivity, W/(m K)
A = Meter area normal to heat flow, m2

T = Temperature difference across the specimen, K
L = In situ specimen thickness, m

Figure 1. Sample of jute/HCP needle punched non-woven composite.

 1398

Figure 2. Heat flow meter schematic for thermal conductivity testing.

Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)
Zakriya et al. 1399

According to EN ISO 6946 the thermal resistance achieved for a constructional

layered composite was obtained by dividing the thickness (T) [18] by the thermal
conductivity value of a non-woven composite


R ¼ T=l m2 K =W ð2Þ

The thermal transmittance (U) is the time rate of heat flow through 1 m2 of a
composite component when the temperature difference between the surfaces in the
direction of heat flow is 1 K. U value can be calculated for a given composite [19]
and is generally represented in W/(m2 K)


U ¼ 1=R W= m2 K ð3Þ

Thermal diffusivity () measures the capacity of a composite to conduct thermal

energy compared to its capacity to store thermal energy. It is an indicator of how
rapidly a composite will vary the temperature in reaction to the relevance of heat
[20]. It is usually denoted by  in m2/s

l
¼ m2 =s ð4Þ
Cp

where,
l = Thermal conductivity W/(m K)
 = Density (kg/m3)
Cp = Specific heat capacity J/(kg K)

Result and discussion

The thermal properties such as thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal
transmittance and thermal diffusivity of 15 composites samples made of jute fibre
and HCP fibre are given in Table 4. The average of 10 readings was noted for
accuracy purpose.
Sample S6 shows the lowest thermal conductivity value 0.0197 W/m K with
4.5 mm thickness and density value of 933 kg/m3 shows good result, which is com-
pared with commercial insulation material shown in Table 5 [18, 21]. Considering the
environmental impact, health impact, energy consumption especially on manufactur-
ing and process of insulation price are compared with jute/HCP fibre. The designed
composites play an optimal effect. Production with higher order quantity decides the
cost of the jute/HCP reinforced non-woven composite product least economically.
Gon et al. suggested jute fibre composite material can be considered as a wood
substitute [22], Ashwarthanarayana and Venugopal Naidu found in their study
that plywood thermal conductivity increases proportionally with its density [23]
and Kiran et al. reported that thermal conductivity of bamboo mat board increases
with increasing bulk density [24].
1400 Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)

Table 4. Thermal properties of jute and HCP reinforced non-woven composite.

Thermal Thermal Thermal Thermal

Sample Total weight Density conductivity resistance transmittance diffusivity
number (g/m2) (kg/m3) (W/m K) (m2 K/W) (W/m2 K) (m2/s)

S1 3600 720 0.0204 0.245 4.0816 1.8  108

S2 3100 689 0.0208 0.2163 4.6232 1.93  108
S3 3600 900 0.021 0.1904 5.2521 1.49  108
S4 2000 444 0.0317 0.1419 7.0472 4.57  108
S5 3700 925 0.0206 0.1941 5.1519 1.42  108
S6 3200 933 0.0197 0.2284 4.3782 1.35  108
S7 4200 711 0.0231 0.1948 5.1334 2.08  108
S8 2600 650 0.0228 0.1754 5.7012 2.24  108
S9 3000 667 0.0203 0.2216 4.5126 1.95  108
S10 3700 740 0.0205 0.2439 4.1 1.77  108
S11 2600 520 0.0224 0.2232 4.4802 2.76  108
S12 2500 625 0.022 0.1818 5.5005 2.25  108
S13 3100 500 0.0218 0.2293 4.361 2.79  108
S14 2500 689 0.0204 0.2205 4.5351 1.89  108
S15 3100 689 0.0207 0.2173 4.6019 1.92  108

Table 5. Comparison with commercial insulation material.

Name of Thermal Thickness Density

S. no insulation material conductivity (W/m K) (mm) (kg/m3)

1 Plaster board 0.210 90 900

2 Wood fibre 0.050 167 10
3 Cork 0.038 133 112
4 Glass mineral wool 0.037 123 10
5 Rock mineral wool 0.033 123 10
6 Expanded polystyrene 0.033 117 20
7 Polyisocyanurate foam, 0.023 80 35
polyurethane foam
8 Phenolic foam 0.022 80 35
Literature [18, 21].

Effect on thermal conductivity ()

The thermal conductivity of the non-woven composite material made up of jute
and HCP fibre for all the 15 samples, with different fibre proportion with varying
Zakriya et al. 1401

thickness was analysed and shown in Figure 3. It is observed that if jute fibre
content increases, it reduces the l [25] value along with increase of thickness of
the composite material. Lowest l value obtained in sample S6, at the maximum of
1750 gsm of HCP fibre content with the lowest contribution of 1250 gsm of jute
fibre sample. S9 gives l = 0.0203 W/m K, when it is compared with the mean value
of 0.02188 W/m K it reduces into 7.2%. Conversely, at maximum jute fibre content
of 1850 and 750 gsm of HCP fibre content in sample S8 with 4 mm thickness and in
S11 with 5 mm thickness considered for evaluation. S11 comparatively found
0.0004 W/m K lower difference, with higher thickness which plays a vital role in
thermal conductivity qualities. Bulk density of the composite material is directly
proportional to thermal conductivity. Here, high gsm of jute/HCP fibre with opti-
mum thickness decides the bulk density of the composites.
From the response surface method (RSM) graph, lowest thermal conductivity
value 0.0199 W/m K is predicted for 4 mm thickness composite material. Its opti-
mized contribution effect of jute/HCP fibre weight is 1865/1454 g/m2. In 4.5 mm
thick composite material, lowest thermal conductivity value 0.0197 W/m K is pre-
dicted for the contribution of jute/HCP fibre, which weighs 1934/1363 g/m2. In
5 mm thickness composite material, lowest thermal conductivity value 0.0193 W/
m K is predicted for the contribution of jute/HCP fibre that weighs 2097/1260 g/m2.
It is clearly evident that increase in thickness reduces the thermal conductivity of
the composites. In Figure 3, 3D graph replicates that the curves on thermal con-
ductivity axis decrease with an increment of thickness.
The air gap between the fibre batting reduces the thermal conductivity, hollow
fibre possess air trap in its core and bound in-between jute fibre reinforced non-
woven composite improves the thermal insulation. Cross section of fibre batting
clearly photographed by SEM images is shown in Figure 7. Due to compression
pressing, the circular shape of the HCP fibre in the middle of the batting is affected.
However, fibre shape and surface area of fibre have not shown any effect on the
thermal conductivity of the designed composite [26].

Effect on thermal resistance (R)

Increasing of thermal resistance along with intensification fibre content, with high
thickness of 5 mm provides the maximum thermal resistance value depicted in
Figure 4. Sample S1 possess the highest R value 0.245 m2 K/W and sample S4 had
the least thermal resistance value 0.1419 m2 K/W. Mean thermal resistance of the
composite is 0.20826 m2 K/W when the density of the composite material decreases,
thickness of the composite bulged relatively when its thickness is increased. High
thickness of the composite material improves the thermal resistance of the composite
and it acts as a good insulator. Thermal conductance distance improved through
thickness increment is a reason for reducing the thermal conductivity. Bulk density
of the material is indirectly proportional to thermal resistance.
From the RSM graph, highest thermal resistance value 0.2479 m2 K/W is pre-
dicted for 5 mm thickness composite material. Its optimized contribution effect of
1402 Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)

Figure 3. Thermal conductivity of jute and HCP composite.

Zakriya et al. 1403

Figure 4. Thermal resistance of jute and HCP composite.

1404 Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)

jute/HCP fibre weight is 1786/1552 g/m2. In 4.5 mm thickness composite material,

highest thermal resistance value 0.2230 m2 K/W is predicted for the contribution of
jute/HCP fibre, which weighs 1909/1430 g/m2. In 4 mm thickness composite mater-
ial, highest thermal resistance value 0.2000 m2 K/W is predicted for the contribu-
tion of jute/HCP fibre that weighs 2183/1150 g/m2. It is clearly evident that increase
in thickness increases the thermal resistance of the composites. In Figure 4, 3D
graph replicates of the curves on thermal resistance axis increase with an increment
of thickness.
The randomized distribution of [27] fibre web, sandwich-structured needle
punched non-woven yields a mechanically stabled composite. Composed with
lower conductance value of fibre with low bulk density provides a better thermal
resistance [28].

Effect on thermal transmittance (U)

Jute fibre content and HCP fibre content increases along with the thickness factor
reduce the thermal transmittance value of the non-woven composite material,
which is clearly shown in Figure 5. Rate of transfer of heat through the composite
material from its differences in temperature across the composite material should
be low for good insulating material. Sample S1 possess lowest thermal transmit-
tance value 4.0816 W/m2 K next to that of sample S10 with a U value 4.1 W/m2 K.
Thickness of the composites plays a vital role in determining the U value. Reducing
the density of the material by adjusting the needling density on the non-woven
manufacturing process and compression pressure regulation could be a right choice
to decide the thickness of the composite material.
From the RSM graph, lowest thermal transmittance value 3.8695 W/m2 K is
predicted for 5 mm thickness composite material. Its optimized contribution
effect of jute/HCP fibre weight is 1815/1480 g/m2. In 4.5 mm thickness composite
material, lowest thermal transmittance value 4.4595 W/m2 K is predicted for the
contribution of jute/HCP fibre, which weighs 1892/1425 g/m2. In 4 mm thickness
composite material, lowest thermal transmittance value 4.4596 W/m2 K is predicted
for the contribution of jute/HCP fibre that weighs 1963/1370 g/m2. It is clearly
evident that increase in thickness reduces the thermal transmittance of the com-
posites. In Figure 5, 3D graph replicates of the curves on thermal transmittance
axis decrease with an increment of thickness.

Effect on thermal diffusivity ()

Low thermal diffusivity slows down the flow of heat in inside of the non-woven
composite related to its bulk density of the composite material. It is clearly evident
from Figure 6 that there are no more changes directly related to the thickness of the
composite material. Sample S6 acquired a lowest thermal diffusivity value
1.35  108 m2/s, because it possesses 933 kg/m3 density. Contrarily, concept of
thickness reduction with to the higher thermal transmittance improves the bulk
Zakriya et al. 1405

Figure 5. Thermal transmittance of jute and HCP composite.

1406 Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)

Figure 6. Thermal diffusivity of jute and HCP composite.

Zakriya et al. 1407

Figure 7. Cross section SEM images of jute and HCP non-woven composite randomized fibre
arrangement with its hollowness.

Table 6. Analysis of variance and lack-of-fit values.

Analysis of variance

Sum of Degree of Mean p-value

Response squares freedom square F value Prob> F Result

Thermal conductivity 0.00008743 6 0.0000145717 3.87 4.10% Significant

Thermal resistance 0.010838267 9 0.001204252 28.45 0.09% Significant
Thermal 7.003057818 6 1.167176303 6.92 0.78% Significant
transmittance
Thermal diffusivity 6.679  1016 6 1.113  1016 4.32 3.05% Significant
Analysis of lack of fit
Thermal conductivity 0.000029394 6 0.000004899 13.24 7.19% Not significant
Thermal resistance 0.000106963 3 0.0000356542 0.68 64.07% Not significant
Thermal transmittance 1.306836839 6 0.21780614 10.27 9.14% Not significant
Thermal diffusivity 1.561  1016 6 2.601  1017 1.04 56.49% Not significant

density of the composite. Improvement of bulk density reduces the thermal diffu-
sivity of composite material. Air gaps present in in-between layers of sandwich
structure and air pockets possessed by the HCP fibres reduce the thermal conduc-
tion in a bulged composite material.
1408 Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)

Table 7. Response surface equation and coefficient of multiple correlations of composites.

Coefficient of
Response surface equation multiple
Response in terms of coded factors correlation (R2) Predicted R2

Thermal 0.022  0.001313A 0.7437 0.2739

conductivity  0.001475B  0.0003375C
þ 0.0037AB þ 0.000375AC
 0.00005BC
Thermal 0.22 þ 0.012A þ 0.010B þ 0.024C 0.9808 0.8238
resistance  0.028AB þ 0.002775AC þ 0.0017BC
 0.011A2  0.013B2 þ 0.0004667C2
Thermal 4.90  0.35A  0.33B  0.55C 0.8385 0.3648
transmittance þ 0.82AB  0.022AC þ 0.013BC
Thermal 2.04  0.48A  0.43B þ 0.098C 0.7656 0.0043
diffusivity þ 0.80AB þ 0.17AC  0.046BC
A = Weight of Jute in grams, B = Weight of HCP in grams, C = Thickness of the composite in mm.

From the RSM graph, lowest thermal diffusivity value 1.48  108 m2/s is pre-
dicted for 4 mm thickness composite material. Its optimized contribution effect of
jute/HCP fibre weight is 2301/1141 g/m2. In 4.5 mm thickness composite material,
lowest thermal diffusivity value 1.48  108 m2/s is predicted for the contribution of
jute/HCP fibre, which weighs 2402/945 g/m2. In 5 mm thickness composite mater-
ial, lowest diffusivity value 1.45  108 m2/s is predicted for the contribution of
jute/HCP fibre that weighs 1419/1719 g/m2. It is clearly evident that increase in
thickness reduces the thermal diffusivity of the composites. In Figure 5, 3D graph
replicates of the curves on thermal diffusivity axis decrease with an increment of
thickness.
In a fluctuating thermal situation, thermal diffusivity of a composite material
determines the dissemination depth and speed of temperature adaptation of non-
woven composite [29].

Statistical evaluation
Using Box and Behnken factorial design composite samples shows a good and
significant relationship between the analysis of variance and analysis of lack-of-
fit values in Table 6. Thermal conductivity model F-value 3.87 infers the model is
significant. There is only 4.10% chance that a ‘Model F-Value’ is large. It may be
possibly befallen due to noise. Values of ‘Prob> F’ less than 0.05 show model terms
are significant. In this case, factor AB (p-value 0.0051) is a significant model term.
Values more than 0.1 indicate the model terms are not significant. The ‘Lack of Fit
F-value’ is 13.24 infers that there is a 7.19% chance that a ‘Lack of Fit’ F-value is
large and may possibly be occurrence of noise. Lack of fit is bad for this designed
Zakriya et al. 1409

composite and relatively low when probability (<10%) is troubling. The same
method is followed for all remaining responses A, B, C, AB, A2 and B2 (p-values
are 0.0035, 0.0064, 0.0001, 0.0003, 0.0202 and 0.0124); factors are significant model
terms for thermal resistance. A, C and AB (p-values are 0.0407, 0.0053 and 0.0039)
factors are significant model terms for thermal transmittance. A, B and AB
(p-values are 0.0224, 0.0363 and 0.0106) factors are significant model terms for
thermal diffusivity.
In this model, thermal resistance responses show the good significant p value
0.09% compared to all other thermal responses.
Table 7 shows the coefficient and constants of the response surface equations. A
negative predicted R2 implies that the overall mean is better in current model
response compared to the predicted model. Knowing the predicted R2 values
helps to understand the efficiency of current model with relation to predicted
model.

Conclusion
The thermal properties such as thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal
transmittance and thermal diffusivity of jute and HCP fibre, reinforced needle-
punched non-woven composite were studied in this paper. Due to global warming,
retaining the temperature inside the dwellings and reducing the transfer of heat in a
controlled mechanism need a good thermal insulator for its energy saving cost.
Among these 15 composite materials, sample S1 (3600 gsm 51/49 parts of contri-
bution of jute/HCP fibre with 5.0 mm thickness) shows the highest thermal resist-
ance and lowest thermal transmittance. Sample S6 (3200 gsm 76.5/23.5 parts of
contribution of jute/HCP fibre, 4.5 mm thickness) shows the lowest thermal con-
ductivity and lowest thermal diffusivity. This may be considered for making a
standardized thermal-insulated composite panel, which is used to control the
indoor climate primarily in air conditioning process.
By considering RSM graph, lowest thermal conductivity, highest thermal resistance,
lowest thermal transmittance and lowest thermal diffusivity are predicted, when the
mean value of jute fibre contribution is 1780 g/m2, mean value of HCP fibre contri-
bution is 1500 g/m2, with the 5.0 mm thickness of the composite material. Its total
weight of 3280 gsm approximately made 54/46 parts of contribution of jute/HCP fibre
gives the optimized thermal responses for the good thermal insulator.
Low melting sheath component present in HCP fibre itself act as a binding agent
at low melting temperature of 110 C. So there is no need of adding external addi-
tives or binders. It reduces the process, handling and raw material cost compared
with commercially available products.
Composite of standard panel more than one can be combined according to the
end use, where the insulation is required. For example in wall coverings, ceilings
and side coverings in building blocks, etc. However, mechanical stability, moisture
and air permeability analysis of the sample requires sorting a standardized panel of
composite for its end use.
1410 Journal of Industrial Textiles 46(6)

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication
of this article.

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