Characterization of mechanical behavior of pineapple leaf fiber composite

Abstract

In the current era, the need for an alternate material from the alloy has shown an abundant growth. For various reasons, the alloys are being replaced with composites. On this hand, natural fibers have discovered a speedy growth in the industry due to eco-friendly nature and availability. The current growth in natural compositeare fibers obtained from the fruit. In this study, the pineapple fruit is considered, and the fibers are obtained from the leaf. It is commonly called as PineApple Leaf Fiber (PALF). As the length of the leaf varies, length of the fiber obtained are not uniform and scope of the fiber is observed to be short. The fibers are extracted from the leaf andis chemically treated. The obtained fibers are reinforced with epoxy resin and composites are prepared by hand lay-up method. The fiber content is varied from 10% to 30% by weight. The study is carried out to understand the basic properties of pineapple leaf fiber. As natural fibers are hydrophilic, it is highly sensitivity to moisture and heat, this behavior is understood with the moisture test. Furthermore, this study reviews about the extraction, fabrication and mechanical properties of the reinforced natural composite with its potential applications.