Ramie reinforced ABS solution impregnation composites using hand lay-up and vacuum infusion techniques

Abstract

Composite fibres are known to have mechanical properties that change with thickness. The proposed composite fibre based on natural fibres can solve the problem where composite fibres, according to thickness, can contribute to the replacement of synthetic fibres. Therefore, the mechanical properties of impregnated ABS solution can be improved by adding layers of natural fibres, such as woven ramie. This study investigates the mechanical properties of Ramie-reinforced thermoplastic composites woven using VARI (Vacuum-Assisted Resin Infusion) and Hand lay-up techniques to create specimens. Tensile tests using UTM instruments (Universal Testing Machine) are performed to determine tensile stress, strain, and elastic modulus. Findings show that the hand hand lay-up specimen shows the same mechanical characteristics as the VARI specimen. The hand hand lay-up specimen also showed almost the same tensile strength for the tensile mechanical test and was 22.4% lower than the VARI specimen. Furthermore, SEM images were also obtained to see the morphological changes on the composite polymer surface due to the tensile test. Overall, the use of the VARI method shows a reduction in voids compared to the Hand lay-up method. But the Hand lay-up method indicates a lot of strength gain compared to the VARI method. Furthermore, there is no reduction in strength through the addition of layers involving both manufacturing techniques.