Studies on improvement of mechanical properties of kenaf-reinforced polypropylene composites
2006
Sharifah Hanisah S.A. Aziz | Khairul Zaman Mohd Dahlan | Jalaluddin Harun
At present, research in composites materials is being directed at using natural fibres instead of synthetic fibres. kenaf which is extensively grown in the Far East including Malaysia,has been identified as a bast (stem) fibre with significant market potential. in this work, long and random kenaf fibres were used in the as-received condition and alkalized witha 0.06M NaOH solution. They were combined with polypropylene thin sheets, sandwiched between layers of kenaf fibres and hot-pressed to form natural fibre composites. The mechanical properties of the composites were investigated to observe the effect of fibre allignment, fibre treatment and pre-irradiation method used. A general trend was observed whereby alkalized and long fibre composites gave higher work of fracture. However the correlation between fibre surface treatments and the work of fracture was less clear. Pre-irradiation on the polypropylene pellets and fibres before the composite is manufactured showed significant improvement on the flexural modulus and flexural strength. However, the method of moulding used need to be improved to optimize the performance of the composites.
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