Influence of Sawdust Bio-filler on the Tensile, Flexural, and Impact Properties of Mangifera Indica Leaf Stalk Fibre Reinforced Polyester Composites

Abstract

Abstract. The need to have biodegradable composites is aloft in today's market as they are environment friendly and are also easy to fabricate. In this study, mangifera indica leaf stalk fibres were used as reinforcement along with saw dust as bio-filler material. Unsaturated isophthalic polyester resin was used as the matrix. The fibres were treated with 6 % vol. NaOH and neutralized with 3 % vol. of dilute HCl. Treatment of sawdust fillers was done by using 2% vol. NaOH solution. Hand layup method and compression moulding technique was used to fabricate the composite laminates. Specimens for evaluating the mechanical properties were prepared by using water jet machining. The results indicated an increase in tensile, flexural and impact strength of composites with addition of sawdust upto 3%. Further addition of the bio-filler resulted in decrease of mechanical properties.