Effect of Fiber Orientation on Mechanical Properties of Kenaf-Reinforced Polymer Composite

Abstract

The increase of environmental awareness has led to interest in the use of materials with eco-friendly attributes. In this study, a sandwich composite was developed from polyester and kenaf fiber with various orientation arrangements. Polyester/kenaf sandwich composite was fabricated through the combination of a hand lay-up process and cold compression. The tensile, flexural, and Izod impact tests of the sandwich composites were evaluated by using a universal tensile tester and an impact tester. The thermal stability of polyester/kenaf sandwich composite and plywood were investigated by using a thermogravimetric analyser. Results showed that the polyester/kenaf sandwich composite with kenaf fiber in anisotropy orientation achieved the highest mechanical properties. The kenaf fiber in anisotropic orientation could absorb the impact energy and allow the sandwich composite to withstand greater impact forces compared to composite with fiber in perpendicular or isotropic orientations. The polyester/kenaf sandwich composite also showed higher thermal stability compared to a conventional plywood sheet. Thus, the fabrication of polyester/kenaf sandwich composite with kenaf fiber in an anisotropic orientation design has great potential to replace plywood sheets for beam construction applications.

Mechanical properties of sugar palm yarn/woven glass fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester composites: effect of fiber loadings and alkaline treatment

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“…However, these promising fibers also have several drawbacks, such as their hydrophilic nature, which leads to the problem of incompatibility with some polymeric matrices. They contain hydroxyl (-OH) groups from cel- 1) Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Faculty of Engineering, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. 2) Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.…”

A Review of Natural Fiber Reinforced Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Based Composites: Application and Opportunity

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Numerical study of stress shielding evaluation of hip implant stems coated with composite (carbon/PEEK) and polymeric (PEEK) coating materials.

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