Effect of Mat Fiber Lay-up and Resin Transfer Molding Process on Flexural and Tensile Properties of Luffa Mat Reinforced Composites

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this paper, two different parts of fiber orientation in the structure of luffa mat, quasi-unidirectional (Part A) and random (Part B), were examined in tensile test. Flexural and tensile tests were conducted on composites reinforced with luffa fiber mat produced by a resin transfer molding (RTM) process. Additionally, the effect of the superposition of the luffa mat, as well as the method of manufacturing on the improvement of the mechanical properties of composites, was studied. Obtained results have shown that the tensile mechanical properties of the luffa mat show Young’s modulus and the tensile strength are higher where the fibers are in the quasi-unidirectional direction (Part A) and strain at break is higher where the fibers are randomly oriented (Part B). The steps followed for the preparation, the superposition of the luffa mat, and the method of manufacturing of the luffa/epoxy composites have shown better mechanical properties in tensile and flexural, with Young’s modulus values of 7.41 ± 0.42 and 6.79 ± 0.3 GPa and strengths of 67.77 ± 1.82 and 67.57 ± 4.29 MPa, respectively, compared to other luffa fiber-reinforced composites already cited in all literature.