scholarly journals Analysis of Mechanical and Wettability Properties of Natural Fiber-Reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composites

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 2827
Author(s):  
Ayyappa Atmakuri ◽  
Arvydas Palevicius ◽  
Madhusudan Siddabathula ◽  
Andrius Vilkauskas ◽  
Giedrius Janusas

Natural fibers have many advantages over synthetic fibers due to their lightness, low cost, biodegradability, and abundance in nature. The demand for natural fiber hybrid composites in various applications has increased recently, because of its promising mechanical properties. In this research work, the mechanical and wettability properties of reinforced natural fiber epoxy resin hybrid composites were investigated. The main aim of this research work is the fabrication of hybrid composites and exploit its importance over individual fiber composites. The composites were fabricated based on the rule of hybridization mixture (0.4 wf) of two fibers using sets of either hemp and flax or banana and pineapple, each set with 40 wt%, as well as four single fiber composites, 40 wt% each, as reinforcement and epoxy resin as matrix material. A total of two sets (hemp/flax and banana/pineapple) of hybrid composites were fabricated by using a hand layup technique. One set as 40H/0F, 25H/15F, 20H/20F, 15H/25F, 0H/40F, and the second one as 40B/0P, 25B/15P, 20B/20P, 15B/25P, 0B/40P weight fraction ratios. The fabricated composites were allowed for testing to examine its mechanical, wettability, and moisture properties. It has been observed that, in both cases, hybrid composites showed improved mechanical properties when compared to the individual fiber composites. The wettability test was carried out by using the contact angle measurement technique. All composites in both cases, hybrid or single showed contact angle less than 90°, which is associated with the composite hydrophilic surface properties. The moisture analysis stated that all the composites responded for moisture absorption up to 96 h and then remained constant in both cases. Hybrid composites absorbed less moisture than individual fiber composites.

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 864
Author(s):  
Ayyappa Atmakuri ◽  
Arvydas Palevicius ◽  
Lalitnarayan Kolli ◽  
Andrius Vilkauskas ◽  
Giedrius Janusas

In recent years, natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have gained much attention over synthetic fiber composites because of their many advantages such as low-cost, light in weight, non-toxic, non-abrasive, and bio-degradable properties. Many researchers have found interest in using epoxy resin for composite fabrication over other thermosetting and thermoplastic polymers due to its dimensional stability and mechanical properties. In this research work, the mechanical and moisture properties of Caryota and sisal fiber-reinforced epoxy resin hybrid composites were investigated. The main objective of these studies is to develop hybrid composites and exploit their importance over single fiber composites. The Caryota and sisal fiber reinforced epoxy resin composites were fabricated by using the hand lay-up technique. A total of five different samples (40C/0S, 25C/15S, 20C/20S, 15C/25S, 0C/40S) were developed based on the rule of hybridization. The samples were allowed for testing to evaluate their mechanical, moisture properties and the morphology was studied by using the scanning electron microscope analysis. It was observed that hybrid composites have shown improved mechanical properties over the single fiber (Individual fiber) composites. The moisture studies stated that all the composites were responded to the water absorption but single fiber composites absorbed more moisture than hybrid composites.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 2744-2751

Natural fiber reinforced composites are gaining popularity over conventional materials due its low cost, easy accessibility, non toxicity and most important feature - the biodegradability. Since broad varieties of natural fibers are available on earth, hence their merits can be incorporated in one by means of hybridization. Matured sponge gourd, which turns into a net structured fibrous mass on sun drying, is amalgamated with coconut coir as reinforcement along with epoxy resin as matrix material in a composite. The present study was carried out to explore the impact of change in weight percentages of sponge gourd fiber and coir on the mechanical properties and moisture affinity. The alkali treated fibers were turned into composites by dint of Hand Layup technique. The various mechanical properties were evaluated according to ASTM protocol. After the successful conclusion of the experiments, it was found that composite with maximum weight percentage of coir showed superlative tensile and impact strength whereas the composite with highest sponge fibre content showed maximum flexural strength. The composite with equal sponge fiber-coir weight percentage displayed lowest affinity towards moisture.


2015 ◽  
Vol 766-767 ◽  
pp. 199-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumar Jayachandran Nirmal ◽  
D. Premkumar

An experimental analysis has been carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of composites reinforced by sisal, coir, and banana fibres into epoxy resin matrix. The natural fibres were extracted by retting and manual processes. The composites fabricated by epoxy resin and reinforcement in the hybrid combination of Sisal-Banana and Sisal-Coir with the volume fraction of fibres varying from 5% to 30%. It has been identified that the mechanical properties increase with the increase of volume fraction of fibres to a certain extent and then decreases. The hybridization of the reinforcement in the composite shows greater mechanical properties when compared to individual type of natural fibres reinforced. For all the composites tested, the tensile strength of the composite increased up to 25% of volume fraction of the fibres and further for the increase in the volume fraction of fibre the mechanical properties were decreased. As same as tensile properties, the flexural and impact strength also increased linearly up to 25% of volume fraction of fibres and further for the increase in the volume fraction of fibre the mechanical properties were slightly decreased. Key Words: Sisal, Banana, Coir, Epoxy, Hybrid composite.


Fibers ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunlong Jia ◽  
Bodo Fiedler

Poor moisture resistance of natural fiber reinforced bio-composites is a major concern in structural applications. Many efforts have been devoted to alleviate degradation of bio-composites caused by moisture absorption. Among them, fiber pre-treatment has been proven to be effective. This paper proposes an alternative “green” fiber pretreatment with furfuryl alcohol. Pre-treatments with different parameters were performed and the influence on the mechanical properties of fiber bundles and composites was investigated. Moisture resistance of composites was evaluated by water absorption tests. Mechanical properties of composites with different water contents were analyzed in tensile tests. The results show that furfuryl alcohol pretreatment is a promising method to improve moisture resistance and mechanical properties (e.g., Young’s modulus increases up to 18%) of flax fiber composites.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-284
Author(s):  
Jai Inder Preet Singh ◽  
Sehijpal Singh ◽  
Vikas Dhawan

Rising environmental concerns and depletion of petrochemical resources have resulted in an increased interest in biodegradable natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites. In this research work, jute fiber has been used as a reinforcement and polylactic acid (PLA) as the matrix material to develop jute/PLA green composites with the help of compression molding technique. The effect of fiber volume fraction ranging from 25% to 50% and curing temperature ranging from 160°C to 180°C on different samples were investigated for mechanical properties and water absorption. Results obtained from various tests indicate that with an increase in the fiber volume fraction, tensile and flexural strength increases till 30% fiber fraction, thereafter decreases with further increase in fiber content. Maximum tensile and flexural strength of jute/PLA composites was obtained with 30% fiber volume fraction at 160°C curing temperature. The trend obtained from mechanical properties is further justified through the study of surface morphology using scanning electron microscopy.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 2719
Author(s):  
Marissa A. Paglicawan ◽  
Carlo S. Emolaga ◽  
Johanna Marie B. Sudayon ◽  
Kenneth B. Tria

The application of natural fiber-reinforced composites is gaining interest in the automotive, aerospace, construction, and marine fields due to its advantages of being environmentally friendly and lightweight, having a low cost, and having a lower energy consumption during production. The incorporation of natural fibers with glass fiber hybrid composites may lead to some engineering and industrial applications. In this study, abaca/glass fiber composites were prepared using the vacuum-assisted resin transfer method (VARTM). The effect of different lamination stacking sequences of abaca–glass fibers on the tensile, flexural, and impact properties was evaluated. The morphological failure behavior of the fractured-tensile property was evaluated by 3D X-ray Computed Tomography and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results of mechanical properties were mainly dependent on the volume fraction of abaca fibers, glass fibers, and the arrangement of stacking sequences in the laminates. The higher volume fraction of abaca fiber resulted in a decrease in mechanical properties causing fiber fracture, resin cracking, and fiber pullout due to poor bonding between the fibers and the matrix. The addition of glass woven roving in the composites increased the mechanical properties despite the occurrence of severe delamination between the abaca–strand mat glass fiber.


The objective of this Research work is to evaluate & analyze the Tensile properties of developed composite specimen with polyurethane foam as matrix material & jute fiber as Reinforcement material. The first research experimentation shall be the tensile test is done as per the ASTM D3039 standard to investigate the tensile properties of this combination of composite materials The main aim of this experimentation tests done are to investigate mechanical properties & strengths of newly developed jute reinforced composites to resist against the subjected tensile & bending loads under various conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 2450-2453

Usage of Natural Fiber Composites (NFC) is increased rapidly due to the bio degradability nature of the fibers. These natural fibers are mixed with synthetic fibers to obtain better mechanical properties. In this study, pine apple and glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites are developed and their mechanical properties were evaluated. Composites were prepared by varying the fibers content and by using hand layup process with glass moulds of size 160 x 160 x 3 mm3 . The obtained laminates were sliced as per the ASTM criterion to test the properties. Higher glass fiber content in the composite specimen obtained higher mechanical properties. The composites can be utilized for the purpose of manufacturing components like doors panels, desks, roof tops etc.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2276
Author(s):  
Rozyanty Rahman ◽  
Syed Zhafer Firdaus Syed Putra ◽  
Shayfull Zamree Abd Rahim ◽  
Irwana Nainggolan ◽  
Bartłomiej Jeż ◽  
...  

The demand for natural fiber hybrid composites for various applications has increased, which is leading to more research being conducted on natural fiber hybrid composites due to their promising mechanical properties. However, the incompatibility of natural fiber with polymer matrix limits the performance of the natural fiber hybrid composite. In this research work, the mechanical properties and fiber-to-matrix interfacial adhesion were investigated. The efficiency of methyl methacrylate (MMA)-esterification treatments on composites’ final product performance was determined. The composite was prepared using the hand lay-up method with varying kenaf bast fiber (KBF) contents of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 (weight%) and hybridized with glass fiber (GF) at 5 and 10 (weight%). Unsaturated polyester (UPE) resin and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) were used as binders and catalysts, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to examine the effects of MMA-esterification treatment on tensile strength and morphology (tensile fracture and characterization of MMA-esterification treatment) of the composite fabricated. The tensile strength of MMA-treated reinforced UPE and hybrid composites are higher than that of untreated composites. As for MMA treatment, 90 min of treatment showed the highest weight percent gain (WPG) and tensile strength of KBF-reinforced UPE composites. It can be concluded that the esterification of MMA on the KBF can lead to better mechanical properties and adhesion between the KFB and the UPE matrix. This research provides a clear reference for developing hybrid natural fibers, thus contributing to the current field of knowledge related to GF composites, specifically in transportation diligences due to their properties of being lightweight, superior, and involving low production cost.


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