Effect Of Fiber Loading Research Articles

The Influence of Chemical Treatment on the Mechanical Behaviour of hair Fibre-Reinforced Composites

Hair is discarded material for our societies and easily found in municipal waste as polluted materials. And large volume is occupied by hair fiber in dumps/waste streams due to slow degradation. So the best way is to develop the approach for utilization the waste material as resources or raw materials. Polymer composites are very common and light weighted material to use everywhere with different reinforced materials. This research work has been investigated the mechanical properties of hair fiber reinforced composites. These reinforced composites are shown the effect of fiber loading and fiber ratios on HDPE polymer reinforced composites in terms of the mechanical behaviour of composites, and compared the effect of treated and untreated fiber on reinforced polymer composites. Water absorption and FTIR analysis are also done for the study of reinforced polymer composites. These types of fiber reinforced polymer composites are very useful for our society to utilize the waste materials as resources.

The effect of fibre loading and graphene on the mechanical properties of goat hair fibre epoxy composite

Composite materials are heterogenous materials containing one or more solid phases. In recent years cost-effective composite making is an ideal task. Hence we have come out with a natural fibre composite, which contains goat hair and epoxy as a binding element, with the combination of Graphene as a main source of enhanced mechanical property. Fabrication of natural composite consists of five layers of goat hair sandwiched in epoxy matrix. These composites made are tested for mechanical properties including Tensile strength, Flexural strength, Inter laminar shear and Impact strength. The mechanical properties of the six composite sets are analyzed and reported.

Effect of chemical treatment on thermal properties of hair fiber-based reinforcement of HF/HDPE composites

Abstract The present study deals with the effects of fiber loading and alkali treatment (AT) on thermal behavior of a hair fiber (HF)-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composite. The HF/HDPE-reinforced polymer composite has been prepared through a compression molding technique, which provided optimum thermal stability at 15 wt% of the fiber in the reinforced composite. The thermal stability of the composite has been investigated using a thermal analyzer [thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), derivative thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)]. The ATs of HF-reinforced composites have affected the thermal stability of the material, in which the observed optimum thermal stability is 0.25 N AT 15% HF/HDPE-reinforced composites. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile test played an important role in the study of the thermal stability of the material. FTIR analysis was used to investigate the chemical groups between the fiber and matrix. The morphology of the fiber is beneficial for the study of the surface treatment effect on the HF. The tensile test examined the optimum strength at 0.25 N AT 15% HF/HDPE composite, and a good relationship between the thermal and mechanical properties was also observed.

Effects of fibre loading and moisture absorption on the tensile properties of hybrid Napier/glass/epoxy composites

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effect of moisture absorption on the mechanical degradation of hybrid Napier/glass-epoxy composites. The hybrid Napier/glass-epoxy composites plates were produced by the vacuum infusion method using epoxy resin as a matrix. The hybrid composite specimens were tested after following 50 h of water immersion. The moisture content decreased as the glass fibre content increased. The wet and dry hybrid composite samples were subjected to tensile tests. The incorporation of the glass fibre into the Napier grass fibre-epoxy composites enhanced their tensile strength and tensile modulus. The tensile strength and tensile modulus of the hybrid Napier/glass-epoxy composites (24/6–70 vol%) were 43 MPa and 3.2 GPa, respectively. However, the tensile strength and tensile modulus properties highly degraded under wet conditions.

Kenaf/PP and EFB/PP: Effect of fibre loading on the mechanical properties of polypropylene composites

Kenaf and empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre which are the important natural fibres in Malaysia were studied as nonwoven polymer composites. The effect of fibre loading on kenaf polypropylene and EFB polypropylene nonwoven composite was studied at different mixture ratio. Kenaf polypropylene nonwoven composite (KPNC) and EFB polypropylene nonwoven composite (EPNC) were prepared by carding and needle-punching techniques, followed by a compression moulding at 6 mm thickness. This study was conducted to identify the optimum fibre loading of nonwoven polypropylene composite and their effect on the mechanical strength. The study was designed at 40%, 50%, 60% and 70% of fibre content in nonwoven mat and composite. The tensile strength, flexural strength and compression strength were tested to evaluate the composite mechanical properties. It was found that the mechanical properties for both kenaf and EFB nonwoven composites were influenced by the fibre content. KPNC showed higher mechanical strength than EPNC. The highest flexural strength was obtained at 60% KPNC and the lowest value was showed by 40% EPNC. The tensile and flexural strength for both KPNC and EPNC decreased after the fibre loading of 60%.

GLASS-FIBRE REINFORCED COMPOSITES: THE EFFECT OF FIBRE LOADING AND ORIENTATION ON TENSILE AND IMPACT STRENGTH

The primary objective of this research work is to analyse the effect of fibre loading and orientation on the tensile and impact strength of the polymeric composite materials. Fibre reinforced composite materials have been reported to have attracted many applications in view of its low weight and superior strength when compared with the metal matrix composite. While researches have established the weight reduction of fibre reinforced polymer material, few works have reported the impact of orientation on the manufacturing of polymer composite. In this study, series of experimental works were done to demonstrate the manufacturing of glass-fibre reinforced epoxy resin with special attention on the influence of oriented reinforced composite material. The composites were manufactured using hand-lay technique with three different fibre loadings (10, 20, and 30 wt. %) and at two different fibre orientations (30o and 60o). Key of the finding drawn from this research form the basis of discussion and, composite with 60o fibre orientation showed better tensile strength when compared with the neat resin and other oriented (G10E30) fibre reinforced composite. Similar observations were also noticed on the impact strength of these composites which signify the improved mechanical properties of oriented reinforced composite materials. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.17

GLASS-FIBRE REINFORCED COMPOSITES: THE EFFECT OF FIBRE LOADING AND ORIENTATION ON TENSILE AND IMPACT STRENGTH

The primary objective of this research work is to analyse the effect of fibre loading and orientation on the tensile and impact strength of the polymeric composite materials. Fibre reinforced composite materials have been reported to have attracted many applications in view of its low weight and superior strength when compared with the metal matrix composite. While researches have established the weight reduction of fibre reinforced polymer material, few works have reported the impact of orientation on the manufacturing of polymer composite. In this study, series of experimental works were done to demonstrate the manufacturing of glass-fibre reinforced epoxy resin with special attention on the influence of oriented reinforced composite material. The composites were manufactured using hand-lay technique with three different fibre loadings (10, 20, and 30 wt. %) and at two different fibre orientations (30 o and 60 o ). Key of the finding drawn from this research form the basis of discussion and, composite with 60 o fibre orientation showed better tensile strength when compared with the neat resin and other oriented (G 10 E 30 ) fibre reinforced composite. Similar observations were also noticed on the impact strength of these composites which signify the improved mechanical properties of oriented reinforced composite materials. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v36i3.17

Influence of Experimental Parameters on Friction and Wear Mechanisms of PA66/PTFE Blend Reinforced with Glass Fiber

Polymer blend of composition 80 wt% polyamide 66/20 wt% polytetraflurotheylene (PA66/PTFE) was selected as a matrix and reinforced with different weight percentage of short glass fibers (SGF). These composites were prepared by melt mix method using twin screw extruder followed by injection molding. The tribological behaviors were tested by using pin on disc machine by varying the different experimental parameters. The friction and wear mechanisms were studied as a function of sliding velocity, sliding load, and distance. The effect of fiber loading lowered the wear volume loss of SGF filled PA66/PTFE blend. The least frictional coefficient of 0.24 was obtained for 20 wt% of SGF in the blend. However, the wear resistance was not apparently improved by SGF loading in the experimental range for comparison with unfilled PA66/PTFE blend. The worn surfaces of specimen were examined by scanning electron microscopy photographs. The observations revealed that the frictional behavior was a function of development and formation of transfer film. Matrix wear and fiber wear were the result of frictional mechanism. The critical wear volume of PA66/PTFE/SGF composites was the contribution of both matrix and fiber wear. The abrasive nature of SGF was also one of the important factor for frictional behavior.

The Effect of Fiber Loading on the Mechanical Behaviour of Carbon-aramid Hybrid Composites

In this emerging world the importance of the research on the material science is increasing because of its wide application in the field of aerospace industry, automotive industry, medical fields, military applications etc. The hybrid composites give a balanced mechanical properties when compared to conventional composites. Epoxy composites having a different percentage composition of carbon-aramid hybrid fibers are fabricated by vacuum assisted resin transfer molding. The improvements in the mechanical properties at different composition of carbon-aramid hybrid fibers are studied. 30, 35, and 45 are the percentage composition of carbon-aramid hybrid fibers which are used in order to study the variation in the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and hardness.

Property correlations for composites based on ethylene propylene diene rubber reinforced with flax fibers

EPDM composites filled with short flax fibers were prepared by melt blending procedure. The effects of fiber loading on the mechanical, thermal and water uptake characteristics were studied. The physico-mechanical, morphological thermal properties and water absorption behavior were discussed using tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetrical analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the flax fibers were well dispersed in the polymer matrix. The tensile strength and hardness of the composites were found to be improved at higher fiber loading. The water absorption pattern of EPDM/fiber composites at room temperature follows a Fickian behavior for composites with 10, 15 and 20 phr flax fiber.

Effects of fiber loading and chemical treatments on properties of sisal fiber-reinforced sheet molding compounds

In this study, the effects of fiber loading from 0 vol.% to 15 vol.% and the chemical treatments on the properties of the sisal fiber-reinforced sheet molding compounds were investigated. The chemical treatments were performed with alkali, γ-ammoniapropyl-triethoxy-silane (KH-550) and γ-methacryloxypropyl-trimethoxy-sliane (KH-570), respectively, to improve the interfacial adhesion between sisal fiber and the matrix (unsaturated polyester resin). The changes of surface morphology and sisal fiber functional groups were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis, respectively. Compared to the untreated sisal fiber-reinforced sheet molding compounds, the mechanical property of the treated sisal fiber-reinforced sheet molding compounds increased due to the interfacial enhancement between sisal fiber and the matrix, which could be observed through the scanning electron microscopy images of fracture surface. Moreover, the better interfacial adhesion was also assisted in water absorption resistance and the thermal stability of the treated sisal fiber-reinforced sheet molding compounds. In the chemical treatments, KH-570 treatment was proved to be an effective method to improve the interfacial adhesion between sisal fiber and the matrix.

Effect of alkali treatment on hair fiber as reinforcement of HDPE composites: mechanical properties and water absorption behavior

Abstract This research work investigated the effect of fiber loading and alkali treatment on hair fiber (HF)-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites in terms of mechanical properties and water absorption behavior. The mechanical stability of the composite material was studied by Universal Testing Machine. The alkali treatment of HF-reinforced HDPE composites was responsible for the investigation of the mechanical and water absorption properties. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were also done for the study of the reinforced polymer composites. The results of the SEM analysis were very helpful for the study of the morphology of the fiber-matrix interface for better/optimum mechanical properties.

Effect of grafting yield and molecular weight of m‐TMI‐grafted‐PP on the mechanical properties of wood fiber filled polypropylene composites

ABSTRACTm‐Isopropenyl‐α, α‐dimethylbenzyl isocyanate (m‐TMI) was grafted on isotactic polypropylene (PP) using di‐cumyl peroxide as a reaction initiator under varying reaction conditions to yield m‐TMI‐g‐PP coupling agent with four sets of grafting yield and molecular weight. Grafting yield of the synthesized m‐TMI‐g‐PP were 1.80%, 2.01%, 9.05%, and 8.86% and molecular weight of the corresponding grafted polymer were 129,225; [Correction made here after initial online publication.] 187,240; 124,130; and 180,838, respectively. Rubberwood flour reinforced polypropylene composites were prepared using these coupling agents and tested for mechanical properties. m‐TMI‐g‐PP coupling agent with 9.09% grafting and 124230 Mw was found to give the highest tensile and flexural strengths. Flexural modulus of the coupled composites was higher than uncoupled composites. Interfacial region of the composites characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) suggest effective wetting of fiber by PP in the case of coupled composites. The effect of fiber loading on composites indicates continuous increment in tensile and flexural strengths in coupled composites. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44196.

Effect of fiber loading on the mechanical properties of bagasse fiber–reinforced polypropylene composites

It is evident that sugarcane/bagasse is a highly potential natural composite fiber. In this study, the correlation of composition fiber amount to the mechanical strength was presented. Bagasse was treated with alkali and then reinforced in polypropylene by means of hot pressing. Fiber loading was set to be varied from 10 to 20 wt%. Composite samples were subjected to tensile, hardness, and flexural characterization. Composites with 30 wt% of fiber loading registered maximum tensile strength while with 10 wt% fiber loading registered the minimum. Hardness increases with the amount of fiber. Flexural strength and flexural modulus were found to be greater than original polypropylene. Scanning electron microscopy examination revealed the mechanisms of the strength gain in morphological point of view. The findings give manufactures and engineers a sound basis decision whether to apply the use of this composite for weight reduction especially in automotive applications or not.

A Study on the Effect of Fiber Loading and Orientation on Mechanical Behaviour of Jute Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites

The natural fibers from renewable natural resources offer the potential to act as a reinforcing material for polymer composites alternative to the use of glass, carbon and other man-made fibers. Among various fibers, jute is most widely used natural fiber due to its advantages like easy availability, low production cost and satisfactory mechanical properties. For a composite material, its mechanical behavior depends on many factors such as fiber content, orientation, types, length etc. Attempts have been made in this research work to study the effect of fiber loading and orientation on the mechanical behavior of jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The aim of this study is to determine the mechanical properties of developed composite plates by varying percentage of Silicon carbide. The composite plates are fabricated by hand layup techniques which is very economical. The flexural properties under three-point bend test are investigated experimentally by using the theory of bending of beam. Experimental results show that the composite plate made with jute have strength closely, finally the developed reinforced composites are then characterized by flexural strength, bending stress and compressive strength. Also, impact test is performed on Charpy,s Impact testing machine to assess shock absorbing capability of material. Keywords- Hand lay-up, composite laminates, load carrying capacity, impact energy

Mechanical properties of polypropylene composites reinforced with alkaline treated pineapple leaf fibre from Josapine cultivar

This study investigates the mechanical properties of high impact polypropylene composite reinforced with pineapple leaf fibre from the Josapine cultivar as a function of fibre loading. PLF was extracted by using a pineapple leaf fibre machine and then an alkaline treatment was conducted to enhance the properties. Samples of the composite were fabricated with 100 mm fibre length with five different fibre loadings of PLF (30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 wt%). The fabrication was made by a compression moulding technique with unidirectional fibre orientation. Related tests such as tensile, hardness and density tests were conducted to determine the effect of fibre loading. The experimental data showed that the composite with the 60 wt% fibre loading offered the highest value of tensile strength, which was about 309%, and the Young’s modulus was about 540% compared to 0 wt% of PLF loading. Meanwhile, the hardness and density of the PLF/PP composites showed very similar values, with small increments from 30 wt% up to 70 wt% PLF loading compared to 0 wt% of PLF loading. The highest values are 65.38 Shore-D and 1.002 g/cm³ respectively. The results also revealed that PLF from the Josapine cultivar with alkaline treatment greatly influences the mechanical properties of PLF/PP composite.

Study the effect of fiber loading and alkali treatment on the mechanical and water absorption properties of wheat straw fiber-reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract The aim of this research was to study the feasibility of using wheat straw fiber with epoxy resin for developing natural fiber-polymer composites. For this purpose, the epoxy resin was reinforced with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt.% of the wheat straw fiber with the help of the hand lay-up technique. Further, in order to improve the composite characteristic, wheat straw fibers were treated with three different concentrations of alkali (1%, 3%, and 5%). The mechanical and water absorption properties of the treated fiber composites were characterized and compared with those of untreated fiber-filled epoxy composites. It was observed that the mechanical properties and water resistance were reduced with the increase in wheat straw fiber loading from 5 to 25 wt.%. Among the three levels of alkali treatment, the composite made with 3% alkali-treated fiber exhibited superior mechanical properties than the other untreated and treated fiber composites, which pointed to an efficient fiber-matrix adhesion. The scanning electron microscope was used to observe the surface features of the wheat straw fiber.

A Study On the effect of Surface treatment on the Physical and Mechanical properties of date-palm stem liber embedded epoxy composites

Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites are being used frequently for variety of engineering applications due to many of their advantages like ease of availability, low density, low production cost and good mechanical properties but natural fibers are more or less hydrophilic in nature. Therefore, an investigation has been carried out to make better utilization of a class of natural fiber that is date palm stem fiber, for making a wide range of products. Attempts have been made in this research work to study the effect of fiber loading on the physical, mechanical and water absorption behaviour of treated and untreated short fiber based epoxy composites. Composites of various compositions of different amounts of fiber loading are fabricated by simple hand lay-up technique. It has been observed that there is a significant effect of surface treatment of fibers on the overall properties of composites. Further enhancement of properties with lower water absorption rate was attained with glass fiber-epoxy based hybrid composites.

Mechanical Properties of High Loading <i>Luffa acutangula </i>Fiber with Cloisite 15A and Polypropylene

Matured luffa fibers can be used as reinforcing fillers for polymers to produce industrial products. Frequently, these fibers are incorporated in thermoplastics and thermosets binders at low loadings (1 – 40) wt % of total composition. In this project, high loadings of luffa fiber (50 to 70 wt %) were incorporated with polypropylene (PP), coupling agent maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) and Cloisite 15A using extrusion for compounding. (C15A) at 5 wt % was added for reinforcement and to increase density of compounded materials for ease of processing during mixing. The compounded material was pelletized and the test pieces were prepared using compression moulding and shaped according to the standard. The effects of fiber loadings on the mechanical properties of the composites were determined.

Effect of fiber loading on the mechanical and physical properties of “green” bagasse–polyester composite

The main aim of this work is to fill unsaturated polyester resin with bagasse agricultural waste, as reinforcement, to prepare green wooden–polymer composites. Bagasse fibers were treated with 5% sodium hydroxide and then with dilute sulfuric acid. Bagasse–polyester composites were prepared by addition of 5, 10 and 15% of untreated and alkali treated bagasse fibers to polyester. The crosslinking reaction was performed using methyl ethyl ketone peroxide as a catalyst and cobalt octoate as an accelerator. The prepared composites were then exposed to post-curing at elevated temperature for completely crosslinking. The flexural behavior of the prepared composites was studied. An enhancement in the mechanical properties was achieved after chemical treatment. In addition, water absorption and chemical resistance were conducted showing that the produced bagasse–polyester composite with appreciable mechanical and physical properties is a new partner and cost effective material for many advanced industrial applications in addition to their environmental friendly behavior.