Analysis of the tensile properties of natural fiber and particulate reinforced polymer composites using a statistical approach

Abstract

Abstract In the present study, the effect of fiber and (5% wt) coconut shell powder (CSP) loading on the tensile properties of randomly oriented roselle fiber reinforced vinyl ester (RV) composites was carried out. Composite specimens were fabricated using the hand lay-up technique. It was observed that tensile properties of vinyl ester composites increase upon reinforcement with roselle fibers and CSP particles. The reinforcement of roselle fibers has significant effects on the tensile strength and modulus of the composite. The fractographic study was carried out on the surface of fractured composite specimens using scanning electron microscopy. A better interfacial adhesion, fiber dispersion and less fiber pull out on the surface of fractured composite specimens were identified. The tensile strength of RV composites has also been statistically analyzed by two-parameter Weibull distribution. Twenty-five tension tests were carried out. The results obtained varied between 37.89 MPa and 45.07 MPa. Furthermore, the inspection of the developed distribution was examined by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test. The results show that the gained two-parameter Weibull distribution can be used to express the tensile strength and predict its values accurately.