Mechanical Character Analysis of Pineapple Fibre Epoxy Composite with Nanoclay Quantity Variation

Abstract

Epoxy based hybrid composites are extremely wide used materials in the polymer engineering field and always have a demand for their versatile applications. Nano clay is yet another trending substance handled by many researchers due to their enhanced abrasion characteristics. This research was performed to investigate the effect of dispersing nanoclay into epoxy matrix and further coupled with pineapple fibers to fabricate a hybrid composite of excellent mechanical property. 4 layers of Pineapple fiber mats were compression moulded with epoxy nanoclay blend to obtain composite specimens of 4mm thickness. Nanoclay was added into epoxy resin at four different weight ratios (2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%) to form four different combinations of matrix materials into which pineapple fiber mats were reinforced individually at a constant weight ratio of 25%. The enhancement of mechanical and abrasion rate of the hybrid composites were matched with those of the neat Epoxy/Pineapple fiber composites that are currently being developed as alternatives for brake pads. Moisture absorption rate of the composites were analysed to ASTM D570 and Morphology was inspected using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The results depicted optimum mechanical performance at 4 wt% nanoclay infused epoxy/pineapple fiber composite that had a tensile strength of 166.75 MPa, flexural strength of 801.15 MPa and impact strength of 148.76 kg/sq. m. The least abrasion rate was detected in the composite with 8 wt% nanoclay content, resulting in an abrasion rate of 0.1064 g/m.