Investigation of Mechanical and Thermal Conductivity Properties of Sansevieria Roxburghiana Leaf Fibers Reinforced Composites: Effect of Fiber Loading

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of the present research was to elicit the influence of fiber loading on the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of Sansevieria roxburghiana leaf fibers reinforced epoxy composites. The mean micro-fibrillar angle of the extracted leaf fibers was found as 18.84° by X-ray diffraction technique. Composite samples were fabricated using randomly oriented fibers under different weight ratios (10, 20, 30, and 40 weight%) employing compression molding technique. Studies exemplify that the mechanical properties of the composites increase with increasing weight ratio of fibers. Optimum tensile, flexural, and impact strength of the composites were found to be 21.1 MPa, 65.6 MPa, and 18.37 kJ/m2 respectively for 30 weight% fiber loading. The high tensile strength of the composites is related to the low microfibrillar angle of the fibers. The increase in mechanical strength is due to the high cellulose content and crystallinity index of the fibers, while the decline at 40 weight% is due to the poor wettability of the fibers. The thermal conductivity of the composites decreases with increase in fiber loading. Void content present in the composites was found. Experimental values obtained show that Sansevieria roxburghiana leaf fibers are potential reinforcements that can be used to make polymer composites suitable for domestic and lightweight applications.