Response surface methodology for the optimization of the effect of fibre parameters on the physical and mechanical properties of deleb palm fibre reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract

Irrespective of the many advantages of Epoxy resins, such as a wide variety of material qualities, ease of processing, little shrinkage during cure, and good adherence to various types of fibres, its application can be further enhanced by improving its mechanical properties. Although previous studies have considered the use of different natural fibres, however, in this study, for the first time Deleb palm fibre was employed as reinforcement on Epoxy, with the purpose of increasing its physical and mechanical qualities due to some of its elemental composition. The optimum formulation of fibre parameters for the development of Epoxy-Based reinforced Deleb palm fibre composite was determined using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The influences of fibre weight composition of 30–35 wt% and fibre length of 1–5 mm on the physio-mechanical properties: tensile modulus, tensile strength, flexural strength, impact energy and water absorption were investigated using RSM based on Central Composite Design (CCD). The RSM revealed that the fibre reinforcement composition of 38.3 wt% and fibre reinforcement length of 3 mm produced the optimum Epoxy-Deleb palm fibre composite with tensile modulus of 260.365 MPa, the tensile strength of 12.485 MPa, the flexural strength of 25.704 MPa, impact energy of 0.882 J, and water absorption of 0.369%. The results showed that the unique properties of Deleb palm fibre have effect on the physio-mechanical properties of the Epoxy-Delab fibre composite.