Abstract
This work investigates the effect of eco-friendly chemical treatments on the mechanical and physical properties of composite laminates based on sisal fibres. A 2231 full-factorial design is conducted to test the influence of chemical solution types, fibre treatment time, and polymer matrix type on the mechanical and morphological characterisation of the composites. Chemical treatments remove impurities from fibre surfaces, and enhance fibre-matrix adhesion. The treatments, especially with sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), also progressively reduce the hemicellulose fibre content. Polyester composites made with sisal fibres treated with Na2CO3 for 96h achieve enhanced strength and stiffness under tensile, compressive and impact loads. The results evidence the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed eco-friendly treatments for natural fibres and the application of renewable fibre laminates in secondary structural applications.
Highlights
The need for materials with high mechanical performance with reduced environmental impact has driven several types of research on composites based on bio-sourced components
The matrix is based on two polymers: epoxy resin (Renlan M and hardener HY 956) and polyester resin with MEK catalyst supplied by Huntsman (Brazil) and Reichhold (Brazil), respectively
The Design of Experiment (DoE) responses obtained in mechanical tests are statistically analysed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique
Summary
The need for materials with high mechanical performance with reduced environmental impact has driven several types of research on composites based on bio-sourced components. Santos et al studied the effect of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3)[13] and sodium bicarbonate on the properties of coir fibres[14] Both carbonates act as mild alkali in aqueous solutions and can be handled safely. It is expected that aqueous solutions of NaHCO3 and Na2CO3 behave to the NaOH solution while reacting with lignocellulose fibres, as shown for sisal[9,12], kenaf[10], flax[11] and coir[13,14] fibres Both alkaline solutions generally take longer than highly alkaline sodium hydroxide solutions[12], usually between 24 and 120 hours, to achieve the desired results. This work investigates the effects of sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate eco-friendly treatments of sisal fibres on the mechanical properties of composite materials. Post-treatment morphological analyses are conducted on the fibres, and quantitative results are assessed statistically using the Design of Experiment (DoE) and ANOVA techniques
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