Assessing fibre surface treatment to improve the mechanical properties of natural fibre composites

Author(s):  
K.L. Pickering
Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 3842
Author(s):  
Adnan Amjad ◽  
M. Shukur Zainol Abidin ◽  
Hassan Alshahrani ◽  
Aslina Anjang Ab Rahman

Natural fibre-based materials are gaining popularity in the composites industry, particularly for automotive structural and semi-structural applications, considering the growing interest and awareness towards sustainable product design. Surface treatment and nanofiller addition have become one of the most important aspects of improving natural fibre reinforced polymer composite performance. The novelty of this work is to examine the combined effect of fibre surface treatment with Alumina (Al2O3) and Magnesia (MgO) nanofillers on the mechanical (tensile, flexural, and impact) behaviour of biotex flax/PLA fibre reinforced epoxy hybrid nanocomposites. Al2O3 and MgO with a particle size of 50 nm were added in various weight proportions to the epoxy and flax/PLA fibre, and the composite laminates were formed using the vacuum bagging technique. The surface treatment of one set of fibres with a 5% NaOH solution was investigated for its effect on mechanical performance. The results indicate that the surface-treated reinforcement showed superior tensile, flexural, and impact properties compared to the untreated reinforcement. The addition of 3 wt. % nanofiller resulted in the best mechanical properties. SEM morphological images demonstrate various defects, including interfacial behaviour, fibre breakage, fibre pullout, voids, cracks, and agglomeration.


2011 ◽  
Vol 383-390 ◽  
pp. 2737-2740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sd Jacob Muthu ◽  
Ratnam Paskaramoorthy

Using polypropylene (PP) as matrix and kenaf mat as reinforcement, composite test samples were fabricated by compression molding. Thereafter, the effect of fibre loading and the alkaline fibre surface treatment on the mechanical properties were studied. The kenaf/PP composites were found to have better mechanical properties than the polymer matrix. As expected, the interfacial bonding between the matrix and the fibres improved considerably when the fibres were subjected to alkaline treatment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1105 ◽  
pp. 51-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.M. Gupta ◽  
Kishor Kalauni

Bhimal fibres are quite a newer kind of bio-degradable fibres. They have never been heard before in literatures from the view point of their utility as engineering material. These fibres have been utilized for investigation of their properties. Characterization of this fibre is essential to determine its properties for further use as reinforcing fibre in polymeric, bio-degradable and other kinds of matrix. With this objective, the fabrication method and other mechanical properties of Bhimal-reinforced-PVA biocomposite have been discussed. The stress-strain curves and load-deflection characteristics are obtained. The tensile, compressive, flexure and impact strengths have been calculated. The results are shown in tables and graphs. The results obtained are compared with other existing natural fibre biocomposites. From the observations, it has been concluded that the tensile strength of Bhimal-reinforced-PVA biocomposite is higher than other natural fibre composites. Hence these can be used as reinforcement to produce much lighter weight biocomposites.


Author(s):  
Sanjay Sharma ◽  
Deepak Verma

Increasing concern about global warming and depleting petroleum reserves and the high cost of petroleum products had made scientists to focus more on the use of natural fibres such as rice husk, baggase, coconut husk, hemp, sisal, jute, flax, banana etc. Past decade has shown many efforts to develop composites to replace the Petroleum and other non-decaying material products. Reinforcement with natural fibre in composites has recently gained attention due to low cost, easy availability, low density, acceptable, strength full, stiffness, ease of separation, enhanced energy recovery, biodegradability and recyclable in nature. Natural fibre composites are suitable as wood substitutes in the construction sector. All these have excellent physical, thermal and mechanical properties and can be utilized more effectively in the development of composite materials. In this connection, an investigation has been carried using rice husk, a natural fibre abundantly available in India.


2020 ◽  
Vol 841 ◽  
pp. 327-334
Author(s):  
Dhiwakar S. Ram ◽  
P.N. Bharath Kumar ◽  
R. Sandeep Kumar ◽  
B. Vijaya Ramnath

Natural Fibre composites are being widely used as a replacement to non-bio-degradable polymer composites. The unavailability of proper processes to treat the natural fibres and the errors in fabrication result in less accurate mechanical properties. The accuracy that is obtained by machine-based processes is not possible in Hand layup method, which is employed in fabrication of natural fibre composites. Finite Element method packages which are specially intended in modelling composite structures give more accurate result of properties than experimental setup, by avoiding fabrication errors. This paper evaluates Impact energy and then the tensile strength, flexural strength of a sugarcane fibre GFRP reinforced polymer matrix both by conventional Hand Layup method and also by Finite Element method.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Bergeret ◽  
Jean Charles Benezet

Starches and polylactic acids (PLAs) represent the main biobased and biodegradable polymers with potential industrial availability in the next decades for “bio” foams applications. This paper investigates the improvement of their morphology and properties through processing and materials parameters. Starch foams were obtained by melt extrusion in which water is used as blowing agent. The incorporation of natural fibres (hemp, cellulose, cotton linter, sugarcane, coconut) in the starch foam induced a density reduction up to 33%, a decrease in water absorption, and an increase in mechanical properties according to the fibre content and nature. PLA foams were obtained through single-screw extrusion using of a chemical blowing agent that decomposed at the PLA melting temperature. A void content of 48% for PLA and 25% for cellulose fibre-reinforced PLA foams and an improvement in mechanical properties were achieved. The influence of a fibre surface treatment was investigated for both foams.


2014 ◽  
Vol 554 ◽  
pp. 116-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Meysam Khoshnava ◽  
Raheleh Rostami ◽  
Mohammad Ismail ◽  
Alireza Valipour

Although Natural Fibres have various potential and advantages such as lower in weight, embodied energy and toxicity but their drawbacks are provided relentless competition between natural and synthetics fibres. Intrinsically, Natural Fibres are hydrophilic that is leaded to poor resistance to moisture and incompatible to hydrophobic polymer matrix. This incompatibility of natural fibres results in poor fibre/matrix interface which in turn leads to reduce mechanical properties of the composites. This study try to litreature some methods of chemical treatment or surface modification of Natural Fibres for improving this drawback of natural fibres. The objective of this research is fungi treatment as Green Surface Treatment that is indicate to environmental friendlier process. The use of fungi can provide low cost, highly efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives to natural fibre surface treatment.


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