Abstract
This research was performed to evaluate the mechanical and thermal properties of sugar palm fiber (SPF)- and kenaf fiber (KF)-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites. Sugar palm/kenaf was successfully treated by benzoylation treatment. The hybridized bio-composites (PP/SPF/KF) were fabricated with overall 10 weight percentage (wt%) relatively with three different fibers ratios between sugar palm-treated and kenaf-treated (7:3, 5:5, 3:7) and vice versa. The investigations of thermal stability were then carried out by using diffraction scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). The result of a flammability test showed that the treated hybrid composite (PP/SPF/KF) was the specimen that exhibited the best flammability properties, having the lowest average burning rate of 28 mm/min. The stiffness storage modulus (E’), loss modulus (E”), and damping factor (Tan δ) were examined by using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The hybrid composite with the best ratio (PP/SPF/KF), T-SP5K5, showed a loss modulus (E”) of 86.2 MPa and a damping factor of 0.058. In addition, thermomechanical analysis (TMA) of the studies of the dimension coefficient (µm) against temperature were successfully recorded, with T-SP5K5 achieving the highest dimensional coefficient of 30.11 µm at 105 °C.
Highlights
Synthetic fibers have been the leading commodity in the composites industry
The preparation and characterization of thermosetting and thermoplastic composite materials reinforced with kenaf and sugar palm fibers with and without treatment using benzoylation methods were conducted
Thermogravimetry offers a quantifiable analysis of theThermogravimetric amount of moisture and vol-and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves of hybrid composites of sugar palm, kenaf, atile compounds present in fibers, the weight loss, and the thermal breakdown
Summary
Synthetic fibers have been the leading commodity in the composites industry. Natural fibers and biopolymers have attracted scientists and industry because of their environmentally beneficial and long-lasting properties Natural fibers such as sugar palm fiber, corn husk fiber [10], jute, and wheat arrowroot, as well as cassava bagasse, are used as reinforcement materials in polymer composites for a variety of reasons, including their ability to be reusable and their low cost, and because they are environmentally sustainable and have good strength and stiffness properties [11]. The current study focused only on the implementation of 10% of kenaf/sugar palm as the composite filler content in order to offer better bonding between the fibers and polypropylene matrix. The preparation and characterization of thermosetting and thermoplastic composite materials reinforced with kenaf and sugar palm fibers with and without treatment using benzoylation methods were conducted. The main objective for this paper was an investigation of thermosetting composites based on their thermal stability, thermal degradation, flammability, and modulus stress by using instrumentation such as diffraction calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), and flammability analysis
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