Development Of Flax Fibre Reinforced Epoxy Composite With Nano Tio2 Addition Into Matrix To Enhance Mechanical Properties

Abstract

Natural fibre reinforced composite has gained a lot of attention in the field of engineering in recent years. Automotive and packing industries are demanding a shift in their design from oil derived polymers and mineral reinforced materials to natural materials focusing in recyclability and bio degradability of green products. Light in weight, low cost of raw materials, easiness in machining are some of the other desirable aspects which thrive them in the market. This work evaluates the ways to improve the mechanical properties of natural fibre reinforced composites to compete with the synthetic fibre composites. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of dispersing Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticle with size 15nm in Flax fibre reinforced epoxy composite. Matrix modification is done by mixing Nano TiO2 in epoxy resin which in turn increases the mechanical properties of the final composite by improving the fibre matrix bonding. Flax fibre woven mat is selected as reinforcement. Matrix selected is Epofine 556 with Finehard 1972 hardener. Hand layup technique is selected as the fabrication process and the mechanical properties in terms of tensile strength are assessed. Outcome of fibre volume fraction and influence of alkali treatment with 5% and 10% NaOH solution are also explored and the results of mechanical testing are presented in this paper.