Influence of alkalisation and eggshell particles on mechanical, thermal and physical properties of rattan-bamboo fibre reinforced hybrid polyester laminated composite

ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this research is to observe the effect of alkalisation of rattan, bamboo fibre, and eggshell particles addition in the fabrication of hybrid polyester laminated composite. A 5% NaOH treatment of fibres was conducted, and 5% eggshell particles was added to the composite. The FTIR analysis was done to reveal the presence of nanol, and thermal stabilities were evaluated by TGA, DTG and DTA. Furthermore, water absorption and biodegradability of the composite were also investigated. Mechanical properties were tested with compatible ASTM standards. The 5% NaOH treated 30 wt.% fibre- loading enhanced the tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, and hardness by 9%, 2%, 7%, and 4%, respectively compared to the raw composites.  On the other hand, the addition of 5% eggshell particles decreased the tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength, and hardness of the raw 30 wt% fibre-reinforced composite by 5%, 4%, 3%, and 2%, respectively   In addition, the raw 30 wt% fibre-reinforced composite has the highest biodegradability, and water absorption percentage than the alkali-treated and eggshell added fibre-reinforced composite. The raw 30 wt% fibre-reinforced composite has dictated over the alkali-treated and eggshell added fibre-reinforced composite in terms of thermal stability.

KEYWORDS:

• Bamboo fibre
• rattan fibre
• polyester
• laminated composite
• alkali treatment
• eggshell particles
• FTIR
• TGA

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology (AUST) and Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for providing their support and laboratory facilities for conducting the research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).