Effect of Surface Treatment on the Mechanical Performance of Unidirectional Enset Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composite

ABSTRACT

Natural fibers have recently become an alternative reinforcement for composite products owing to their light-weightiness, renewability and biodegradability. However, they have certain drawbacks including hygroscopic nature, low compatibility with the polymer matrices and inferior mechanical properties when compared to synthetic fibers. This study aims to develop a one-way enset fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composite. In this study, long and aligned enset fibers were interlaced with PP yarns to form a woven mat. The mat was surface treated, and later the film stacking method was applied to develop the composite via hot pressing. The mechanical properties of the developed composites were characterized. The results showed that bis[3-(triethoxysilyl) propyl] tetrasulfide (1.5 wt% Si69) and 3glycidyloxy propyl trimethoxy silane (5 wt%GPs) treated unidirectional enset fiber woven mat showed the highest tensile strength which shows an increase of 266.98% and 218.14%, respectively, relative to the pure PP. In terms of flexural strength, enset fibers treated with NaOH (3.5 wt%) and EVsi69 (1.5 wt%) showed the greatest improvement of 218.14% and 151.64% respectively over pure PP. Therefore, the developed composite samples confirmed that enset fiber can be effectively reinforced with PP for the application of automotive and construction industries.

摘要

天然纤维因其重量轻、可再生性和生物降解性, 最近已成为复合材料产品的替代增强材料. 然而, 与合成纤维相比, 它们具有某些缺点, 包括吸湿性, 和聚合物基体的相容性低以及较差的机械性能. 本研究旨在开发单向Enset纤维增强聚丙烯(PP)复合材料. 在这项研究中, 长而整齐的Enset纤维与PP纱线交织在一起, 形成编织垫. 对垫子进行表面处理, 然后采用薄膜粘合法通过热压显影复合材料. 对所制备的复合材料的力学性能进行了表征. 结果表明, 经双[3-(三乙氧基硅)丙基]四硫化物(1.5wt%Si69)和3缩水甘油氧基丙基三甲氧基硅烷(5wt%GPs)处理的单向Enset纤维机织毡的拉伸强度最高, 分别比纯PP提高了266.98%和218.14%. 在弯曲强度方面, 经NaOH(3.5wt%)和EVsi69(1.5wt%)处理的Enset纤维与纯PP相比分别提高218.14%和151.64%. 因此, 所开发的复合材料样品证实, Enset纤维可以用PP有效增强, 用于汽车和建筑行业

KEYWORDS:

• Polypropylene
• one-way
• mechanical properties
• woven mat
• enset fiber and silane

关键词:

• 聚丙烯
• 单向的
• 力学性能
• 编织垫
• 纤维和硅烷

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work received funding from Excellence in Science & Technology (ExiST) a Higher Education and TVET program Ethiopia - phase 3 PE 479-higher Education KFW project No.[51235].