Influence of NaHCO3 treated kenaf/nettle fiber on mechanical and sliding wear performance of epoxy composites

Abstract

This investigation addresses the experimental research on the mechanical and sliding wear behavior of kenaf/nettle-epoxy composites. The mechanical properties like tensile strength, flexural strength, and hardness in this investigation were found to be greatly affected by the kenaf/nettle fiber content. The variation of reinforcement (keanf/nettle) from 0 wt% to 12 wt% was used for fabricating the composites. Moreover, up-to 8 wt% of fiber loading, tensile strength-153.20 MPa (61.75 %) and flexural strength- 68.57 MPa (55.24 %) are increased as compared to neat epoxy composites, whereas higher hardness (63.42 Hv) is achieved at 12 wt% of fiber loading. Sliding wear tests are conducted at different normal loads (10-40N) and reveal that higher wear resistance is achieved at 12 wt% at 30N of fiber loading, which is 4.0033/N-m × 10-8. From this investigation, it can be clearly shown that plant fiber (kenaf/nettle) could be innovative feasible alternative to renewable, eco-friendly, and light weight fiber reinforced composites with moderate mechanical and wear properties.