Abstract
Woven natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have better tensile, flexural, and compressive strength compared to the mechanical properties of unidirectional and randomly oriented NFRPC because of the interlacing of fiber bundles. However, the characterization of impact behavior with different fiber orientation such as 30°/60°, 0/90°, 30°/−45°, and 45°/−45° woven sisal fiber reinforced polyester composite was not studied vigorously. Thus, this paper focuses on the experimental characterization of the impact resistance behavior on woven sisal fiber reinforced polyester composite materials for semistructural part by using Izod impact testing setup. The 30°/60°, 30°/−45°, 0°/90°, and 45°/−45° woven sisal fiber was prepared using nailed wooden frame as a warp and weft guider. The woven sisal fiber was impregnated in order to make woven sisal fiber dimensionally stable. Using 40% by weight of fiber and 60% by weight of polyester, the composite was developed using hand layup process. The morphology and cross‐sectional elemental detection was carried out using scanning electron microscope (SEM) assessment in leather development institute (LDI). Finally, impact tests were carried out using Izod impact testing setup in Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (ASTU). The average impact strength of a 40 wt% fiber 45°/−45° woven sisal fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester composite (WSFRPC) test specimen with consecutive warp and weft tow spacing of 2 mm was 342.67 J/m and this was greater energy compared to the other orientations. But the average impact strength of a 40 wt% fiber 30°/60° WSFRPC of test specimen with consecutive warp and weft tow spacing of 2 mm was 241.33 J/m.
Highlights
Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have been used in industry as semistructural materials. ese semistructural applications include interior automotive body panels, interior automotive door panels, dashboard, and back seats [1].ey can be used for door frames, door shutters, window frame, and mirror casing [2]
Sisal fibers offer a good reinforcement compared to other natural fibers, owing to the less extraction cost. us, in addition to selecting semistructural material for suitable application and loading condition, studying the impact resistance behavior of sisal fiber reinforced plastic composite for semistructural application is important so that we can use it in suitable application
Sisal fiber has the lowest environmental impact compared to all other natural fibers because this fiber has the lowest embodied energy [6]. e thickness of the secondary wall having the highest content of cellulose determines the mechanical property of sisal fibers [5]. e core of the sisal fiber contains lumen, while the middle lamella, on the other hand, is responsible for firmly attaching the whole micron-sized fiber onto it, maintaining its physical strength as reinforcement element
Summary
Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites have been used in industry as semistructural materials. ese semistructural applications include interior automotive body panels, interior automotive door panels, dashboard, and back seats [1].ey can be used for door frames, door shutters, window frame, and mirror casing [2]. Unsaturated polyester resin is the most widely used matrix due to its advantages like good adhesion to other materials, high strength, low volatility during cure, low shrink rate, good dimensional stability, and low viscosity Because of this relative advantage and its availability, unsaturated polyester resin was used as a matrix material for the experimental investigation on impact resistance behavior of sisal fiber reinforced polymer composite. Even though untreated natural composites have high impact resistance, in this study, treated sisal fiber was used as a reinforcement, since it is obvious that untreated natural fibers have low stiffness compared to treated natural composites, but in most semistructural applications, we need both stiff and tough composite materials. The experimental characterization of the impact resistance behavior of woven sisal fiber reinforced polyester composite was investigated
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