Mechanical characterization of polylactic acid reinforced bagasse/basalt hybrid fiber composites

Abstract

This paper focuses on the mechanical behavior of Polylatic acid reinforced Basalt and Bagasse fibers. The most important aspect in formulating this hybrid composite with better mechanical properties is the optimization of interfacial bonding between the reinforcing bagasse fiber and basalt fiber and polymer matrix. The composite of different weight proportion of the materials is compounded using twin screw extruder. The specimens were prepared by injection molding and subjected to various mechanical testing under tensile, flexural, and impact loads. It was found that 84 wt% of polylactic acid, 12 wt% of Basalt fiber and 4 wt% of Bagasse fiber composite exhibits better mechanical properties compared to other composites taken for study in this research. The better tensile, flexural, and impact strength of 52.8 MPa, 82.2 MPa, and 3.39 KJ/m2 were observed. The results show that the fiber content in weight percentage is playing a major than the fiber length on the improvement of tensile, flexural, and impact properties. The mechanical behavior obtained through experiments witnessed that Bagasse/Basalt fiber reinforcement in polylactic acid composites can be used as medium-load applications because of its low cost and ease of decomposability. The scanning electron microscope photography of the tested specimens shows better interfacial bonding between matrix and fibers. Also, the water absorption test indicates increase in fiber content increases the water absorption rate, reveals good degradation property of the composite. Additionally, the use of Bagasse fiber promotes the degradation of the material after its life time.