Enhancement of Mechanical, Thermal and Morphological Properties of Eleusine Indica Grass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Figures & data

Figure 1. Eleusine Indica grass and extracted fibers.

Figure 2. Cross section of untreated and alkali-treated EI fiber.

Table 1. Chemical composition and density of EI fiber before and after chemical treatment.

Fiber	Cellulose %	Hemicelluloses %	Lignin %	Wax %	Moisture content %	Density Kg/m^3	Ash%
Raw EI	52.3	14.7	20.12	2.9	5.6	1143	2.5
Alkali EI	65.2	10.28	11.65	1.98	1.78	1027	1

Table 2. Mechanical properties of epoxy/EI composite.

Composites	Tensile strength (MPa)	Young’s Modulus (GPa)	Elongation at break (%)	Impact strength (KJ/m^2)
Neat Epoxy	$\mathit{EMPTY}\mathit{EQUATION}$	$1.89\pm 0.15$	$10.54\pm 1.02$	$25.56\pm 2.12$
Untreated
EI 20	$66.06\pm 2.34$	$2.53\pm 0.66$	$8.12\pm 0.09$	$27.62\pm 1.67$
Treated
EI 5	$65.12\pm 2.07$	$2.72\pm 0.21$	$7.83\pm 0.12$	$24.20\pm 3.22$
EI 10	$72.21\pm 3.18$	$2.98\pm 0.27$	$7.07\pm 0.09$	$25.22\pm 3.45$
EI 15	$74.79\pm 3.02$	$3.27\pm 0.61$	$6.83\pm 0.06$	$29.19\pm 2.02$
EI 20	$79.31\pm 3.35$	$3.84\pm 0.12$	$6.34\pm 0.09$	$32.24\pm 2.13$
EI 25	$70.76\pm 2.17$	$3.24\pm 0.34$	$7.10\pm 0.10$	$26.18\pm 2.35$

Figure 3. Tensile strength of epoxy/EI composite at different wt% of fiber loadings.

Figure 4. TGA and DTG of untreated and treated epoxy/EI composite (20 wt% fiber loading).

Figure 5. FTIR of untreated and treated epoxy/EI composite (20 wt% fiber loading).

Table 3. Wave number with their respective bonding.

Wavenumber	Bond
3397 cm^−1	O-H stretching
2882 cm^−1	C – H symmetrical stretching
1735 cm ^−1	H – C–H bending
1100 cm ^−1	C – H wagging

Figure 6. XRD of untreated and treated epoxy/EI composite (20 wt% fiber loading).

Figure 7. SEM image of (a) untreated epoxy/EI composite (b) treated epoxy/EI composite.