The Effect Of Alkalization Treatment On The Mechanical Properties And Water Absorption Of Kenaf/Polyester Biocomposites

Bio-composite is a material formed by resin as a matrix and a reinforcement of natural fiber. The objectives of this research are to determine the effect of chemical treatment on mechanical properties and water absorption of bio-composite kenaf fiber. The long bast kenaf fibers were treated by chemi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Phongsakorn, Prak Tom
Format: Thesis
Language:English
English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/13829/1/The_Effect_Of_Alkalization_Treatment_On_The_Mechanical_Properties_And_Water_Absorption_Of_Kenaf_Polyester_Biocomposites_-_24_Pages.pdf
http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/13829/2/The_Effect_Of_Alkalization_Treatment_On_The_Mechanical_Properties_And_Water_Absorption_Of_Kenaf_Polyester_Biocomposites.pdf
http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/13829/
http://library.utem.edu.my:8000/elmu/index.jsp?module=webopac-d&action=fullDisplayRetriever.jsp&szMaterialNo=0000080707
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Summary:Bio-composite is a material formed by resin as a matrix and a reinforcement of natural fiber. The objectives of this research are to determine the effect of chemical treatment on mechanical properties and water absorption of bio-composite kenaf fiber. The long bast kenaf fibers were treated by chemical method using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to improve properties of fiber. The effects of the modification on fibers have been analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Morphological analyses proved that natrium hydroxide have effective to remove impurities on the fiber surface. By using vacuum infusion process (VIP), the bio-composite kenaf fibers panel is produced. Vacuum infusion method offers benefits over hand lay-up method, which was higher fiber to resin ratio and whilst stronger composites. In this research, mechanical tests were performed to evaluate the effect of chemical treatment on the mechanical properties of bio-composite kenaf fiber. It has been found that the alkalization treatment has improved the mechanical properties of the composites. The mechanical properties of kenaf/polyester composites were found increase with increasing of NaOH concentration. Otherwise, it decrease when immerse time is up from 12 to 24 hours. The tensile and flexural strengths were achieved as high as 90.81MPa and 93.35MPa, respectively. In spite of its high tensile and flexural properties, kenaf polyester composites treated with 9% NaOH for 12 hours demonstrated relatively low impact strength. As better impact properties are demonstrated by higher failure value, it is believed that too high concentration of NaOH possibly low failure value. The ability of water absorption among the composite also have been analyzed in this study. The percentage of moisture uptake proven that fiber treatment have positive affected on the water absorption of the composites. Lastly, it has been summarize that chemical treatment on kenaf fibers as well as manufacturing process played important role to fabricate a good mechanical properties of composites.