Dual cantilever creep and recovery behavior of sisal/hemp fibre reinforced hybrid biocomposites: Effects of layering sequence, accelerated weathering and temperature

Abstract

In this work, the influence of weathering on the creep behavior of the sisal (SSSS), hemp (HHHH), and their hybrid composites (HSSH, and HSHS) was investigated. Composites were exposed to accelerated weathering for 2222 h, which replicates conditions equivalent to 1 year of outdoor exposure. Bio-epoxy based composites were fabricated by the hot press technique. Creep study was performed in a dynamic mechanical analyzer under the dual cantilever creep mode at 30 °C and 50 °C testing temperature under a load of 5 N. The creep-recovery behavior of the weathered composite specimens was evaluated and compared with the unweathered specimens. The investigation revealed that creep strain decreased with the incorporation of the sisal and hemp fibres into the bio-epoxy matrix. The experimental creep response of the composites was also in good agreement with the analytical results from Burger’s model. Both the weathering and testing conditions at elevated temperature (50 °C) had a significant impact on the creep resistance of the composites. The creep resistance of the hybrid composites was found to be dependent on the layering sequence. HSHS configuration almost displayed similar creep properties before and after weathering. HSSH configuration was found to have lower creep resistance after weathering. Scanning electron microscopy was used out to examine the fibre-matrix interface of the composites.

Influence of fibre loading on the density, voids, dimensional resilience, tensile characteristics and thermomechanical behaviour of bamboo fibre and bio‐epoxy composites

“…For instance, the measured density of the bamboo fibre composites rose from 1.19 g cm −3 in B‐30 to 1.26 g cm −3 in B‐60; the percentage of improvement was observed to be 5.58%. It was ascribed to a higher density of bamboo fibre (1.4 g cm −3 ) 18 than bio‐epoxy matrix (1.1930 g cm −3 ) 29 . In addition, it is observed from Table 2 that the measured density was lower than the theoretical density due to the presence of void formation in fabricated composite samples.…”

“…It was ascribed to a higher density of bamboo fibre (1.4 g cm −3 ) 18 than bio-epoxy matrix (1.1930 g cm −3 ). 29 In addition, it is observed from Table 2 that the measured density was lower than the theoretical density due to the presence of void formation in fabricated composite samples.…”

Impact of biochar on the fungal decay resistance of hemp-polylactic acid composites against wood basidiomycetes

“…Prior research (Thiagamani et al, 2019) reported that combined hemp and sisal fibers reinforcements were effective in increasing tensile and compressive strength of epoxy-based hybrid composites when the stacking sequences were well-optimized. Likewise, hemp-sisal fibers fillers had a positive effect in term of maintaining the impact resistance (Senthilkumar et al, 2021) and improving the creep behaviors (Senthilkumar et al, 2022) of bio-epoxy composites after exposure to accelerated UV-weathering. However, the use of plant fibers in polymer composites is still limited due to the susceptibility to biological degradation by living organisms such as termites and wood fungi which damage the material and cause early decay leading to loss of mechanical, morphological, and physical properties (Ding et al, 2018).…”

Experimental investigation on the mechanical and acoustic performance of hemp/kenaf hybrid composites: Influence of different stacking sequences

“…Natural fiber composites are being used more and more in a variety of industries, such as sports, construction, automobiles, and aeroplanes Particularly in the automobile sector, natural fiber composites are being utilized increasingly for door panels, dashboards, brake pads, and other non-structural parts [1][2][3][4][5] Natural fiber composite materials are strongly recommended in order to promote the use of local materials in developing nations because they are readily available, strong, high modulus, inexpensive and light weight [6][7][8][9] Additionally, these are preferred over synthetic fibers due to their sustainability and environmental friendliness [10][11][12][13][14] A single matrix is reinforced with two or more fibers to produce a hybrid composite with improved mechanical properties [15][16][17][18] The benefit of using a hybrid composite is that one type of fiber may compensate for the inadequacies of another type of fiber [19][20][21][22] Aside from that, hybridization greatly enhances the mechanical characteristics of composites by optimizing the benefits of each material, resulting in improved strength, stiffness, and durability in the composite structure. [23][24][25][26][27] The mechanical behavior of hemp/flax and jute fiberreinforced hybrid composites were studied by Chaudhary et al 28 The findings demonstrated that the jute-hemp-flax fiber reinforced hybrid composites have superior tensile strength of 58.5 MPa, tensile modulus of 1.88 GPa and impact strength of 10.19 KJ/m 2 .…”