Remarkable improvement in inter-yarn friction and puncture resistance of jute fabrics impregnated by recycled glass beads as shear-thickening fluids

The current study implemented a facile approach to recycle waste glass panels for synthesizing glass particles, aiming to develop an innovative and cost-effective shear thickening fluid (STF). The waste glass panels were recycled to micron-size glass beads (MGBs) of sizes similar to 38 mu m. The MGBs of varying wt% were blended with polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) for developing economical STFs. It was found that the addition of MGB in PEG above 45 wt% stabilized the rheological outcomes and a maximum peak viscosity of similar to 0.147 Pa.s observed for 70 wt% MGB loading. Following the rheological performance, the yarn pull-out tests were conducted to assess the significance of STF in the inter-yarn friction of jute fabric. Results revealed a notable similar to 331 % increase in pull-out load for jute fabrics treated with STF having 65 wt% MGB loading compared to untreated fabrics. However, higher standard deviations were observed in jute fabrics treated with STF containing 45 wt% MGB loading and above, compared to those with less than 40 wt% MGBs. Additionally, during the yarn pull-out test, the single-layer jute fabric with over 50 wt% MGBs in STF tears before complete yarn extraction, confirming the crucial role of STF. The outcomes were validated by FESEM analysis. Further, a quasi-static puncture test on jute fabric with 45-70 wt% MGBs in STF also showed significantly improved puncture resistance in both single and double layers compared to untreated fabric which showcases the potential of waste glass in STF development.