Effect of alkali treatment on hair fiber as reinforcement of HDPE composites: mechanical properties and water absorption behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prashant Srivastava ◽  
Shishir Sinha

Abstract This research work investigated the effect of fiber loading and alkali treatment on hair fiber (HF)-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites in terms of mechanical properties and water absorption behavior. The mechanical stability of the composite material was studied by Universal Testing Machine. The alkali treatment of HF-reinforced HDPE composites was responsible for the investigation of the mechanical and water absorption properties. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were also done for the study of the reinforced polymer composites. The results of the SEM analysis were very helpful for the study of the morphology of the fiber-matrix interface for better/optimum mechanical properties.

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 731-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Varun Mittal ◽  
Shishir Sinha

AbstractThe aim of this research was to study the feasibility of using wheat straw fiber with epoxy resin for developing natural fiber-polymer composites. For this purpose, the epoxy resin was reinforced with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt.% of the wheat straw fiber with the help of the hand lay-up technique. Further, in order to improve the composite characteristic, wheat straw fibers were treated with three different concentrations of alkali (1%, 3%, and 5%). The mechanical and water absorption properties of the treated fiber composites were characterized and compared with those of untreated fiber-filled epoxy composites. It was observed that the mechanical properties and water resistance were reduced with the increase in wheat straw fiber loading from 5 to 25 wt.%. Among the three levels of alkali treatment, the composite made with 3% alkali-treated fiber exhibited superior mechanical properties than the other untreated and treated fiber composites, which pointed to an efficient fiber-matrix adhesion. The scanning electron microscope was used to observe the surface features of the wheat straw fiber.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shailendra Singh Chauhan ◽  
Vaibhav Singh ◽  
Gauranshu Saini ◽  
Nitin Kaushik ◽  
Vishal Pandey ◽  
...  

Purpose The growing environmental awareness all through the world has motivated a standard change toward planning and designing better materials having good performance, which are very much suited to the environmental factors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact on mechanical, thermal and water absorption properties of sawdust-based composites reinforced by epoxy, and the amount of sawdust in each form. Design/methodology/approach Manufacturing of the sawdust reinforced epoxy composites is the main area of the research for promoting the green composite by having good mechanical properties, biodegradability or many applications. Throughout this research work, the authors emphasize the importance of explaining the methodology for the evaluation of the mechanical and water absorption properties of the sawdust reinforced epoxy composites used by researchers. Findings In this paper, a comprehensive review of the mechanical properties of sawdust reinforced epoxy composite is presented. This study is reported about the use of different Wt.% of sawdust composites prepared by different processes and their mechanical, thermal and water absorption properties. It is studied that after optimum filler percentage, mechanical, thermal properties gradually decrease, but water absorption property increases with Wt.% of sawdust. The changes in the microstructure are studied by using scanning electron microscopy. Originality/value The novelty of this study lies in its use of a systematic approach that offers a perspective on choosing suitable processing parameters for the fabrication of composite materials for persons from both industry and academia. A study of sawdust reinforced epoxy composites guides new researchers in the fabrication and characterization of the materials.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2636
Author(s):  
Petr Valášek ◽  
Miroslav Müller ◽  
Vladimír Šleger ◽  
Viktor Kolář ◽  
Monika Hromasová ◽  
...  

Composite materials with natural fillers have been increasingly used as an alternative to synthetically produced materials. This trend is visible from a representation of polymeric composites with natural cellulose fibers in the automotive industry of the European Union. This trend is entirely logical, owing to a preference for renewable resources. The experimental program itself follows pronounced hypotheses and focuses on a description of the mechanical properties of untreated and alkali-treated natural vegetable fibers, coconut and abaca fibers. These fibers have great potential for use in composite materials. The results and discussion sections contribute to an introduction of an individual methodology for mechanical property assessment of cellulose fibers, and allows for a clear definition of an optimal process of alkalization dependent on the content of hemicellulose and lignin in vegetable fibers. The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of alkali treatment on the surface microstructure and tensile properties of coir and abaca fibers. These fibers were immersed into a 5% solution of NaOH at laboratory temperature for a time interval of 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 48 h, rinsed and dried. The fiber surface microstructures before and after the alkali treatment were evaluated by SEM (scanning electron microscopy). SEM analysis showed that the alkali treatment in the NaOH solution led to a gradual connective material removal from the fiber surface. The effect of the alkali is evident from the visible changes on the surface of the fibers.


2005 ◽  
Vol 475-479 ◽  
pp. 1001-1004
Author(s):  
Ninglin Zhou ◽  
Xiao Xian Xia ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Shao Hua Wei ◽  
Jian Shen

A novel exfoliated polyurethane (PU)/clay Interpenetrating Polymer Networks (IPNs) nanocomposite has been synthesized with polyurethane and organoclay. MTPAC is used as swelling agent to treat Na-montmorillonite for forming organoclay. The results indicate that there is very good compatibility between organoclay and PU. Nanoscale silicate dispersion was analyzed by XRD. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites have been measured by tensile testing machine. The nanocomposites show obviously improved physical and mechanical properties when compared with the pure polymer. Additionally, PU /MTPAC- clay shows lower water absorption properties than pure PU do. In addition, the reinforcing and intercalating mechanism of silicate layers in polyurethane matrix are discussed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 152808372110575
Author(s):  
Adnan Amjad ◽  
Aslina Anjang Ab Rahman ◽  
Habib Awais ◽  
Mohd Shukur Zainol Abidin ◽  
Junaid Khan

Composite holds great promise for future materials considering its advantages such as excellent strength, stiffness, lightweight, and cost-effectiveness. Due to rising environmental concerns, the research speed gradually changes from synthetic polymer composites to natural fibre reinforced polymer composites (NFRPCs). Natural fibres are believed a valuable and robust replacement to synthetic silicates and carbon-based fibres, along with biodegradability, recyclability, low cost, and eco-friendliness. But the incompatibility between natural fibre and polymer matrices and higher moisture absorption percentage of natural fibre limitise their applications. To overcome these flaws, surface treatment of natural fibre and nanofiller addition have become some of the most important aspects to improve the performance of NFRPCs. This review article provides the most recent development on the effect of different nanofiller addition and surface treatment on the mechanical, thermal, and wetting behaviour of NFRPCs. It concludes that the fibre surface treatment and nanofillers in natural fibre polymer composites positively affect mechanical, thermal and water absorption properties. A systematic understanding in this field covers advanced research basics to stimulate investigation for fabricating NFRPCs with excellent performance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 842 ◽  
pp. 7-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozi Adi Saputra ◽  
Ludfiaastu Rinawati ◽  
Kartika Setia Rini ◽  
Dheo Adha Saputra ◽  
Edi Pramono

The influence of fiber size on mechanical and water absorption properties of recycled Polypropylene/Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (namely, rPP/EFB) bio-composites has been conducted study. rPP/EFB bio-composite was a compounding of recycled polypropylene (rPP) and palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) with different sizes, i.e. particle size (150 mesh sieve escaped, referred as p-EFB) and short fiber (s-EFB). Manufacturing of the bio-composites was prepared by the solution method in boiling xylene via reactively process using benzoyl peroxide as an initiator. The addition of coupling agent, such as maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) was improve the chemical interaction between the rPP and EFB which evidenced by the shift of the wave number of raw materials on infra-red spectra of rPP/EFB bio-composite. Mechanical properties test showed that s-EFB was increase the tensile strength value up to 95% compare to rPP, higher than the p-EFB which is 56% compare to rPP. However, the elongation percentage of the bio-composites contain s-EFB was lower than the bio-composites contain p-EFB. Water absorption analysis also performed in this study to determine the biodegradability of bio-composites. In this study, fiber size gives a considerable influence on the mechanical properties of rPP/EFB bio-composites, however not significant on water absorption properties.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Sahadat Hossain 3 ◽  
Md. Nazrul Islam 1* ◽  
M A Gafur 2

The composites of biodegradable high density polypropylene (HDPE) reinforced with short coir fiber were prepared by melt mixing followed by hot press molding. The effect of fiber addition on some physical and mechanical properties was evaluated. Different process parameters (e.g. mixing time, heating temperature and time, cooling time etc.) were established for good sample preparation The effects of fiber addition on some physical and mechanical properties were evaluated. The mechanical properties were studied via Universal Testing Machine (UTM). The density was increased with the increase of fiber addition. The tensile strength (TS) of fabricated product increased with the increase of fiber addition up to 10% (by wt.) and then decreased continuously. The elongation of fabricated composites was decreased with the increase of fiber addition continuously. The changes in the mechanical properties were broadly related to the accompanying interfacial bonding of HDPE coir composites (HDPECC). To observe the hydrophilicity of the prepared composites was evaluated by the water uptake properties. The interfacial bonding of the fiber and matrix of the coir fiber reinforced composites was studied via scanning electron microscope. It revealed that the introduction of short coir fiber led to a slightly improved mechanical stability of PP- Coir composites. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
MK Gupta ◽  
Rohit Singh

In the present work, a novel physical treatment (PLA coating) of sisal fibres and its influence on the water absorption, static and dynamic mechanical properties of its composites has been presented. The treated sisal fibres were used consisted of alkali treatment and PLA coating to fabricate its polyester-based composites by hand lay-up technique keeping constant fibres content as 20 wt.% . Water absorption analysis was carried out in terms of water uptake (%), and sorption, diffusion and permeability coefficient. In addition, static properties were examined in terms of tensile, flexural and impact test, and dynamic mechanical analysis was performed in terms of storage modulus [Formula: see text], loss modulus [Formula: see text], damping [Formula: see text] and glass transition temperature [Formula: see text]. It was reported that the PLA-coated sisal composites showed the best performance in water absorption, mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties than pure sisal and alkali-treated sisal composites. There were 33%, 49%, 48%, and 27% improvement in water resistance, tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength, respectively, of PLA-coated sisal composites as compared to that of pure sisal composite.


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