Evaluation of injection moulded natural fibre-polyolefin for potential in automotive applications

Abstract

This paper presents results from measurements of the interfacial adhesion of coir fiber with various polypropylene matrices along with the mechanical properties of their related injection molded composites. Fiber-matrix adhesion, including the effect of polymeric coupling agent, was characterized using the fiber pull-out method. The addition of coupling agent significantly increased the interfacial shear strength of coir fiber-polypropylene. Results from tensile and impact testing of coir reinforced polypropylene composites showed that the coupling agent increased composite tensile strength and unnotched impact strength but reduced notched impact performance. The potential of these materials to replace existing automotive materials is discussed. It is concluded that coir reinforced-polypropylene is not a suitable candidate to replace glass fiber – polypropylene but that it may have some potential as a replacement in lower performance talc reinforced polypropylene applications.