An empirical research on areca fiber polymer composite for automotive components in modern industry

Abstract

Recently the development of natural fiber composites instead of synthetic fiber has led to eco-friendly product manufacturing to meet various applications in the field of automotive, aerospace, construction and manufacturing. The use of natural fibers offers an alternative to the synthetic reinforcing fibers because of their good mechanical properties, low density, renewability, and biodegradability. Different natural fibers are generally utilized as reinforcement in thermoplastic polypropylene (PP) matrix to prepare composites. In this paper, experimental investigation of natural fiber i.e., Areca fiber reinforced with polypropylene polymer matrix is done to analyze the Mechanical and Thermal properties of polymer composite. The modification of composite is done by using Maleic Anhydride (MA) during preparation of composite material. Different fractions of composites with 5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15 wt% fiber content were prepared in twin extruder and 3 wt% of Maleic anhydride was added during the mixing process. Mechanical and Thermal properties such as Tensile strength, Bending strength, Elongation at break, Water absorption capacity, Heat Distortion Temperature (HDT) of areca fiber and PP composites were investigated. The above composite polymers are used in manufacturing the components of automobiles such as passenger car interiors, indicator cover, door panels, door pockets, rear view mirror covers.