Development of Novel Natural Composites with Fly Ash Reinforcements and Investigation of their Tensile Properties

Abstract

Increasing demand for special materials leads to new inventions. One of the most promising inventions is the concept of composites. Natural fibers have the potential as a reinforcing material as an alternative to the use of glass, carbon and other synthetic fibers in automotive industries. Among various natural fibers, Kenaf is a widely used fiber due to its easy availability, low density, low production cost and satisfactory mechanical properties. To enhance the mechanical properties of natural fibre composites, strengthening of the matrix and fibre is very much essential. A prospective reinforcement in this regard is fly ash, which is abundantly available as a waste product from thermal power plants. In this paper, a new novel natural composite with epoxy as a resin and reinforcing both bio waste (Kenaf) and industrial waste (Fly ash) has been developed. All the laminates were prepared with a total of 4 plies. Laminates without fly ash filler were also fabricated for comparison purpose. A hand lay-up method was used for the fabrication of composites and was tested as per ASTM standards for evaluation of tensile properties. The effect of fly ash weight percentage (5, 10, 15% wt.) on tensile properties was studied experimentally. Due to the incorporation of fly ash fillers into the kenaf fiber composites, there is considerable improvement in the mechanical properties. Overall results supported the effective utilization of natural composites for automotive applications.