Improvement of Mechanical Properties of Coir/Epoxy Composites through Hybridization with Sisal and Palmyra Palm Fibers

ABSTRACT

In the present work, an attempt was made to improve the mechanical properties of the coir fiber reinforced epoxy composites through addition of high strength sisal and palmyra palm fibers. The hybrid composites were fabricated using compression molding technique by maintaining the volume fraction of fiber to matrix as 40:60. In the hybrid composites, the volume fraction of coir was maintained as 20%, while the volume fraction of other fibers was varied from 5% to 15%. The mechanical properties of the hybrid composites were investigated as a function of fiber volume fraction of sisal and palmyra palm fibers. The outcomes revealed that the hybrid composite have higher mechanical properties than the coir fiber composites due to synergistic effect of reinforcements. Furthermore, the morphological studies were carried out on the mechanical tested samples to predict the failure mechanisms.

摘要

本工作尝试通过添加高强度剑麻和巴尔米拉棕榈纤维来改善椰壳纤维增强环氧树脂复合材料的力学性能. 通过将纤维体积分数维持在40:60，利用压缩成型技术制备了这种混合复合材料. 在复合材料中，椰壳的体积分数保持在20%，而其他纤维的体积分数在5%到15%之间变化. 研究了剑麻和巴尔米拉棕榈纤维的体积分数对复合材料力学性能的影响. 结果表明，由于增强剂的协同作用，复合材料的力学性能优于椰壳纤维复合材料. 此外，还对机械试样进行了形态学研究，以预测其破坏机理.

KEYWORDS:

• Hybrid composites
• natural fibers
• coir
• palmyra palm
• sisal
• epoxy

关键词:

• 混合复合材料
• 天然纤维
• 椰壳
• 巴尔米拉棕榈
• 麻
• 环氧树脂