Impact of Alkali Treatment on Characterization of Tapsi (Sterculia Urens) Natural Bark Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, research attention on composite materials accentuates where not only was their unique attributes agglomerated-alleviated weight and density, elevated impact and specific strengths, but also on where their bio-degradability and eco-friendliness transpires. In these, the alkali treated composites, to meet the needs of the aforementioned attributes and economy, with significant applicability in the market avenues. Hence, the present experimental study endeavors on investigating the effect of alkali treatment on mechanical and thermal properties of Tapsi fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Further, their characterization was done using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. From the results, it is found that 15 gms Tapsi fiber reinforced with NaOH treated specimens exhibited 43.02 MPa and 160 MPa of tensile and flexural strengths, respectively, which is notable and 10 gms Tapsi fiber reinforced with NaOH treated specimens revealed more thermal stability. The results are witnessed that showcase the effect of alkali treatment on the aforementioned properties through different characterization techniques.

摘要

近年来复合材料的研究不仅突出了其独特的特性凝聚在一起减轻了重量和密度提高了冲击力和比强度而且突出了其生物降解性和生态友好性的发生. 其中碱处理复合材料满足上述属性和经济性的需要在市场上有着显著的适用性. 因此本实验旨在研究碱处理对TAPSI纤维增强聚合物复合材料力学性能和热性能的影响. 此外还利用傅立叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对其进行了表征. 结果表明经NaOH处理的15 gms Tapsi纤维的拉伸强度和弯曲强度分别为43.02兆帕和160兆帕这是显著的经NaOH处理的10 gms Tapsi纤维的热稳定性更高. 结果表明通过不同的表征技术碱处理对上述性能有一定的影响.

KEYWORDS:

• Tapsi Fibers
• Alkali-treatment
• Polymer composites
• Mechanical properties
• Thermal properties
• X-ray diffraction analysis

关键词:

• Tapsi纤维
• 碱处理
• 聚合物复合材料
• 机械性能
• 热性能
• X-ray diffraction analysis X射线衍射分析

Additional information

Notes on contributors

M. Ramesh

Prof. M. Ramesh awarded PhD in the area of bio-composite materials from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India. He received his Master of Engineering in Computer Aided Design (CAD) from University of Madras, Tamil Nadu, India, and Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore, India. Presently, he is working as Professor & Vice-Principal at KIT-Kalaignarkarunanidhi Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, India. His research interests include bio-materials, polymer nano-composites, hybrid composites and energy efficient materials. More details can be found at (https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=YzVpt7AAAAAJ&hl=en).