Effects of number of ply, compression temperature, pressure and time on mechanical properties of prepreg kenaf-polypropilene composites

Abstract

Composite material thermoplastic was prepared from polypropilen granule as matrix, kenaf fiber as reinforcement and grafted polypropylene copolymer maleic anhydride as coupling agent. Composite products were produced as sandwich structures using compression molding. This research aimed to observe the influence of number of ply, temperature, pressure, and compression time using factorial design. Effects of variables on tensile and flexural strength were analyzed. Experimental results showed that tensile and flexural strength were influenced by degradation, fiber compaction, and matrix – fiber interaction mechanisms. Flexural strength was significantly affected by number of ply and its interaction to another process parameters (temperature, pressure, and compression time), but no significant effect of process parameters on tensile strength. The highest tensile strength (62.0 MPa) was produced at 3 ply, 210 °C, 50 Bar, and 3 min compression time (low, high, high, low), while the highest flexural strength (80.3 MPa) was produced at 3 ply, 190 °C, 50 Bar, and 3 min compression time (low, low, high, low).