Effect of Pretreatment Methods on Properties of Natural Fiber Composites: A Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 555-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Venkatachalam ◽  
P. Navaneethakrishnan ◽  
R. Rajsekar ◽  
S. Shankar

India as a tropical agricultural country has great potential to develop and use fiber derived from agricultural waste. Natural fibers are an important by-product of extraction process and they can be used as reinforcement in composite products. Composites are developed with unsaturated polyester resin as the matrix with natural fiber as the reinforcement. The results show decreased strength and modulus with increasing the fiber volume fraction. This indicates ineffective stress transfer between the fiber and matrix due to lower adhesion. It is necessary to bring a hydrophobic nature to the fibers by suitable chemical treatments in order to develop composites with improved mechanical properties. In these review papers, different types of natural fibers are subjected to a variety of physical and chemical treatments. The types of treatments studied in these papers include Physical treatments such as beating and heating, and chemical treatments like alkalization, silane, acetylation and benzoylation. The effects of these treatments on mechanical properties of the composites are analyzed. Fractures are analyzed by using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Analysis by FTIR and DMA showed that physico-chemical changes of surfaces of treated natural fibers. In general, treatments to the fibers can significantly improve adhesion and reduce water absorption, thereby improving mechanical properties of the composites. The purpose of this review paper is to summarize the research work done on various pretreatments in the preparation of natural fiber reinforced composites and to highlight the potential use of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites in industry and its potential to replace the synthetic fiber composite and conventional materials in the future.

Nowadays, Natural Fiber Reinforced composites (NFCs) are emerging to be a good substitute for synthetic fiber reinforced composites as NFCs have many advantages such as low density, high specific strength, recyclability, low cost and good sound abatement quality etc. Among all types of NFCs, a vast study has been done on banana fiber and kenaf fiber reinforced composite. However, only limited work has been done on the banana fabric, kenaf fiber reinforced composite and the effect of their hybridization on mechanical properties. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the mechanical properties of the banana fabric, kenaf fiber and hybrid banana fabric/kenaf fiber reinforced composites. Effect of alkali treatment on kenaf fiber reinforced composite is discussed in the paper. For the present work, plain-woven banana fabric and randomly oriented kenaf fiber are used as reinforcement while the epoxy resin is used as a matrix. samples are fabricated using hand lay-up and vacuum bagging method. Curing is done at ambient temperature (250C-300C) for 48h. Tensile, impact and hardness test has been performed on a specimen according to ASTM standards. Improvement in mechanical properties is observed after alkali (6% NaOH) treatment on kenaf fiber reinforced composite. Tensile testing behavior of randomly oriented kenaf fiber composite has been studied using Finite element method and results are compared with experimental investigations. This topic present big potential because it seeks to find solution for sustainable development with environmental concerns.


2019 ◽  
Vol 948 ◽  
pp. 181-185
Author(s):  
Heru Santoso Budi Rochardjo ◽  
Muhammad Ridlo

In the last decades, natural fiber composites have received much attention as important structural materials for lightweight components in automotive, and space industries because of low density, high specific strength, and environment-friendly materials. Some natural fibers, however, still not applied in more useful structure, one of which is the frond fiber of snake fruit (salacca zalacca). This fiber is usually just burned or fired as the agricultural waste. The present paper presents the result of the development of frond salacca fiber as the wear component of natural fiber reinforced phenolic. In this composite, the fiber and the phenolic are in the form of powder. The variation of fiber volume fraction was used as the main factor in the tribology characteristics of the composite. The specific wear and also the hardness is then compared to that of the existed commercially available motorbike brake pad as a comparison.


2021 ◽  
Vol 891 ◽  
pp. 125-130
Author(s):  
Subrata Chandra Das ◽  
Debasree Paul ◽  
Mubarak Ahmad Khan ◽  
Sotirios A. Grammatikos ◽  
Styliani Papatzani

Recently, natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have become popular over traditional synthetic fiber reinforced polymer composites for automotive, low demanding structural and semi-structural applications. In this work, a comparative study of a natural fiber composite such as jute fabric composite (JFRP) and synthetic fiber composite such as glass fiber composite (GFRP) is presented. The composites were manufactured using hand lay-up and then curing at 90°C for 10 min in a hot press, followed by 24 h room temperature post-curing. The mechanical properties such as tensile and bending of JFRP and GFRP composites, were evaluated and compared. It was revealed that even if GFRPs exhibited significantly higher mechanical properties than JFRPs, environmental impact would still favor JFRPs for non-structural and low load bearing applications.


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 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-143
Author(s):  
Hiral H. Parikh ◽  
Harshit P. Soni ◽  
Deval A. Suthar ◽  
Dhruv H. Patel

Background: The technological enhancement in various disciplines enhances the demand for the new material which can replace the conventional materials. This has initiated the idea of composite materials. Synthetic fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites are being widely used due to its mechanical properties, but these fibers lack in terms of biodegradability, initial processing cost, recyclability and health hazard. An alternative to tackle these drawbacks can be found in natural fibers, that give an advantage in terms of strength to weight ratio, ease of availability and biodegradability. Methods: This work is aimed to determine the effect of hybrid basalt - banana reinforced epoxy composite and their effectiveness in substituting few conventional materials in terms of their mechanical properties, wear resistance and water absorption rate. Results: Basalt Banana Hybrid Composite (BBHC) is tested for their mechanical strength, hardness, impact strength, flexural strength, wear rate and water absorption rate. The test results of mechanical properties for the BBHC are compared to the other hybrid materials and conventional materials. Conclusion: The test results reveal that the hybrid basalt banana epoxy composite is a good substitute over various conventional materials. The water absorption test results reveal that the hydrophilic nature of the natural fibers reduces a lot after the hybridization.


2014 ◽  
Vol 592-594 ◽  
pp. 202-205
Author(s):  
V. Santhanam ◽  
M. Chandrasekaran ◽  
N. Venkateshwaran

Composite materials are widely used for their superior properties such as high strength to weight ratio, high tensile strength, low thermal expansion, low density etc. Due to environmental issues the eco-friendly composites are being explored. Natural fibers as reinforcement for polymer composites are widely studied. But natural fibers lack better mechanical properties when compared with synthetic fibers. Hence mixing the natural fiber with a synthetic fiber such as glass fiber will improve mechanical properties of the composites. In this study banana fiber is mixed with glass fiber, and the mixture is used as reinforcement in epoxy matrix. The composite specimens were prepared using hand layup technique, the fibers were randomly oriented. Further the fiber length was varied as 10, 15, 20 and 25mm and volume fraction as 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. Experiments were conducted to find the effect of fiber length and volume fraction on tensile strength, flexural strength, water absorption properties of the composites. It is observed that a fiber length of 20mm and 20% fiber volume fraction gave better mechanical properties.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1323
Author(s):  
M. J. Suriani ◽  
Hannah Zalifah Rapi ◽  
R. A. Ilyas ◽  
Michal Petrů ◽  
S. M. Sapuan

In recent years, most boat fabrication companies use 100% synthetic fiber-reinforced composite materials, due to their high performance of mechanical properties. In the new trend of research on the fabrication of boat structure using natural fiber hybrid with kevlar/fiberglass-reinforced composite, the result of tensile, bending, and impact strength showed that glass fiber-reinforced polyester composite gave high strength with increasing glass fiber contents. At some point, realizing the cost of synthetic fiber is getting higher, researchers today have started to use natural fibers that are seen as a more cost-effective option. Natural fibers, however, have some disadvantages, such as high moisture absorption, due to repelling nature; low wettability; low thermal stability; and quality variation, which lead to the degradation of composite properties. In recent times, hybridization is recommended by most researchers as a solution to natural fiber’s weaknesses and to reduce the use of synthetic fibers that are not environmentally friendly. In addition, hybrid composite has its own special advantages, i.e., balanced strength and stiffness, reduced weight and cost, improved fatigue resistance and fracture toughness, and improved impact resistance. The synthetic–nature fiber hybrid composites are used in a variety of applications as a modern material that has attracted most manufacturing industries’ attention to shift to using the hybrid composite. Some of the previous studies stated that delamination and manufacturing had influenced the performance of the hybrid composites. In order to expand the use of natural fiber as a successful reinforcement in hybrid composite, the factor that affects the manufacturing defects needs to be investigated. In this review paper, a compilation of the reviews on the delamination and a few common manufacturing defect types illustrating the overview of the impact on the mechanical properties encountered by most of the composite manufacturing industries are presented.


2021 ◽  
Vol 879 ◽  
pp. 284-293
Author(s):  
Norliana Bakar ◽  
Siew Choo Chin

Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) made from synthetic fiber had been widely used for strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures in the past decades. Due to its high cost, detrimental to the environment and human health, natural fiber composites becoming the current alternatives towards a green and environmental friendly material. This paper presents an investigation on the mechanical properties of bamboo fiber reinforced composite (BFRC) with different types of resins. The BFRC specimens were prepared by hand lay-up method using epoxy and vinyl-ester resins. Bamboo fiber volume fractions, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45% and 50% was experimentally investigated by conducting tensile and flexural test, respectively. Results showed that the tensile and flexural strength of bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composite (BFREC) was 63.2% greater than the bamboo fiber reinforced vinyl-ester composite (BFRVC). It was found that 45% of bamboo fiber volume fraction on BFREC exhibited the highest tensile strength compared to other BFRECs. Meanwhile, 40% bamboo fiber volume fraction of BFRVC showed the highest tensile strength between bamboo fiber volume fractions for BFRC using vinyl-ester resin. Studies showed that epoxy-based BFRC exhibited excellent results compared to the vinyl-ester-based composite. Further studies are required on using BFRC epoxy-based composite in various structural applications and strengthening purposes.


2011 ◽  
Vol 471-472 ◽  
pp. 291-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piyush P. Gohil ◽  
A.A. Shaikh

Composites are becoming essential part of today’s material because they offer advantages such as low weight, corrosion resistance, high fatigue strength; faster assembly etc. composites are generating curiosity and interest all over the worlds. The attempts can be found in literature for composite materials high strength fiber and also natural fiber like jute, flax and sisal natural fibers provides data but there is need of experimental data availability for unidirectional natural fiber composite with seldom natural fiber like cotton, palm leaf etc., it can provide a feasible range of alternative materials to suitable conventional material. It was decided to carry out the systematic experimental study for the effect of volume fraction of reinforcement on longitudinal strength as well as Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) using developed mould-punch set up and testing aids. The testing is carried out as per ASTM D3039/3039M-08. The comparative assessment of obtained experimental results with literature is also carried out, which forms an important constituent of present work. It is also observed through SEM images and theoretical investigations that interface/interphase plays and important role in natural fiber composite.


2017 ◽  
Vol 867 ◽  
pp. 41-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chitra Umachitra ◽  
N.K. Palaniswamy ◽  
O.L. Shanmugasundaram ◽  
P.S. Sampath

Natural fibers have been used to reinforce materials in many composite structures. Many types of natural fibers have been investigated including flax, hemp, ramie, sisal, abaca, banana etc., due to the advantage that they are light weight, renewable resources and have marketing appeal. These agricultural wastes can also be used to prepare fiber reinforced polymer hybrid composites in various combinations for commercial use. Application of composite materials in structural applications has presented the need for the engineering analysis. The present work focuses on the fabrication of polymer matrix composites by using natural fibers like banana and cotton which are abundant in nature and analysing the effect of mechanical properties of the composites on different surface treatments on the fabric. The effect of various surface treatments (NaOH, SLS, KMnO4) on the mechanical properties namely tensile, flexural and impact was analyzed and are discussed in this project. Analysing the material characteristics of the compression moulded composites; their results were measured on sections of the material to make use of the natural fiber reinforced polymer composite material for automotive seat shell manufacturing.


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