Abstract
The recent trends have seen natural fiber reinforced composites (NFRC) garnering a large following due to their low density, commercially viability, low health risk, high tensile strength and modulus and renewability. Many have attempted toapplythe NFRC in automotive and other practical applications. This paper discusses the physical properties such as the Gel time, specific gravity, and also the volumetric shrinkage of a recently developed kenaf reinforced bulk molding compound with unsaturated polyester matrix. It has been found that the specific gravity declines as the fiber loading increases all fiber length. The highest was the BMC reinforced with 9 mm kenaf short fiber with 1.81. It has also been found that the Gel time increases proportionally to the loading of the fiber due to the fibers absorbing the heat released during bond formation. And a compression molding technique was used to study the shrinkage of the respective materials. It can be concluded that both fiber loading and fiber length plays a significant part in the physical properties of the composites
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