Mechanical, morphological, and thermogravimetric analysis of alkali-treated Cordia-Dichotoma natural fiber composites

ABSTRACT

Usage of composites with natural fiber reinforcement is drastically increasing in recent times because of their low density, biodegradable nature, and low cost. However, natural fibers have certain core problems such as poor adhesion between the fiber and matrix and a relatively high degree of moisture absorption. Alkaline treatment of natural fibers is aimed at improving the adhesive strength so that effective stress transferability takes place in the composite. In the present work, Cordia-Dichotoma fibers were treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and composites were prepared with different weight ratios of these fibers reinforced with epoxy. The prepared composites were tested for their tensile and flexural strengths (mechanical properties). Besides, for a comprehensive material characterization, IR spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope, and thermogravimetric analysis were carried out. This work investigates the influence of aforementioned NaOH treatment on thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of the composite material.

摘要

天然纤维增强复合材料具有密度低、可生物降解、成本低等特点，近年来其应用量急剧增加。然而，天然纤维存在一些核心问题，如纤维与基体之间的粘附性差，吸湿程度相对较高。碱处理天然纤维的目的是提高粘合强度，从而在复合材料中发生有效的应力转移。文采用氢氧化钠（NaOH）处理Cordia-Dichotoma纤维，制备不同重量比的环氧树脂增强复合材料。制备的复合材料的拉伸强度和弯曲强度（机械性能）进行了测试。此外，为了全面的材料表征，红外光谱（FT-IR），SEM和TGA进行。本文研究了上述NaOH处理对复合材料热性能、力学性能和形态学性能的影响。

KEYWORDS:

• Natural fibers
• alkali treatment
• mechanical properties
• TGA
• SEM

关键词:

• 天然纤维
• 碱处理
• 力学性能
• 摘要

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Management of G. Pulla Reddy Engineering College (Autonomous), Kurnool, for providing the grant under In-house project.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the GPREC [1/2016].