Abstract
Natural fibers and their composites play a vital role in the fabrication of various components in automobile and structural components because of their superior specific performance. In order to satisfy day-to-day requirements in various sectors, new eco-friendly materials are introduced which are reinforced with renewable, cheap, and easily available natural fibers. A new leaf fiber, i.e., Indian date leaf (IDL), is introduced in this work and extracted by “pure splitting method” (PSM). Initially, the fiber is characterized for its density and tensile behavior. Surface morphology of the fiber is also examined by using JEOL JSM scanning electron microscope (SEM). Using IDL and IDL CT fibers as reinforcement in the polyester matrix, the composites are fabricated by wet lay-up technique. The fabricated composite specimens are tested to determine mechanical and dielectric properties as per ASTM procedures. Chemically treated IDL fiber exhibited 25.69 %, 4.6 % more tensile strength and modulus than untreated ones, and the stress vs. strain curves are drawn for all tested specimens. The specific tensile strength of chemically treated IDL FRP composites is 1.38 times higher than untreated IDL FRP composites whereas specific tensile modulus of IDL FRP composites is 1.04 times higher than treated IDL FRP composites at maximum fiber volume fraction. Chemically treated IDL FRP composites exhibited flexural strength, modulus of 63.47 MPa, 5 GPa under flexural loading, which is higher than untreated FRP composites. IDL FRP composites’ impact strength is 18.94 kJ/m2 at maximum fiber volume fraction. The dielectric strength is clearly decreasing with increase in fiber content, which gives an opportunity for a designer in selecting suitable lightweight material with reasonable insulation. A clear rougher surface at all portions on the surface of chemically treated IDL fibers is visualized from SEM image.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Fonseca VM, Fernandes VJ Jr, De Varvalho LH, D’Almeida JRM (2004) Evaluation of the mechanical properties of sisal-polyester composites as a function of the polyester matrix formulation. J Appl Polym Sci 94:1209–1217
George J, Bhagawan SS, Prabhakaran N, Thomas S (1995) Short pineapple-leaf-fiber-reinforced low-density polyethylene composites. J Appl Polym Sci 57:843–854
Herrera-Franco P, Valadez-Gonzalez A, Cervantes-Uc M (1997) Development and characterisation of a HDPE-sand-natural fiber composite. Compos B 28B:331–343
Hill CAS, Abdul Khalil HPS (2000) Effect of fiber treatments on mechanical properties of coir or oil palm fiber reinforced polyester composites. J Appl Polym Sci 78:1685–1697
Idicula M, Neelakantan NR, Oommen Z, Joseph K, Thomas S (2005) A study of the mechanical properties of randomly oriented short banana and sisal hybrid fiber reinforced polyester composites. J Appl Polym Sci 96:1699–1709
Ismail H, Shuhelmy S, Edyham MR (2002) The effects of a silane coupling agent on curing characteristics and mechanical properties of bamboo fibre filled natural rubber composites. Eur Polym J 38:39–47
Joseph K, Thomas S, Pavithran C (1995) Effect of ageing on the physical and mechanical properties of sisal fiber reinforced polyethylene composites. Compos Sci Techol 53:99–110
Julson JL, Julson GS, Stokke DD, Heath H, Gieselman KM (2004) Mechanical properties of biorenewable fiber/plastic composites. J Appl Polym Sci 93:2484–2493
Keener TJ, Surat RK, Brown TK (2004) Maleated coupling agents for natural fibre composites. Compos A 35:357–362
Liao B, Huang Y, Cong G (1997) Influence of modified wood fibers on the mechanical properties of wood fiber-reinforced polyethylene. J Appl Polym Sci 66:1561–1568
Luo X, Roberto S, Benson KM, Kit MD (2002) Kudzu fiber-reinforced polypropylene composite. J Appl Polym Sci 85:1961–1969
Manikandan Nair KC, Diwan SM, Thomas S (1996) Tensile properties of short sisal fiber reinforced polystyrene composites. J Appl Polym Sci 57:1483–1497
Mitsuhiro K-IT, Ozawa K, Ryutoku Y (2002) Biodegradable polyester composites reinforced with short abaca fiber. J Appl Polym Sci 85:129–138
Murali Mohan Rao K, Mohana Rao K, Ratna Prasad AV (2010) Fabrication and testing of natural fibre composites: vakka, sisal, bamboo and banana. Mater Des 31:508–513
Nicolai FNP, Botaro VR, Cunha Lins VF (2008) Effect of silane degradation on the mechanical properties of vinyl ester matrix composites reinforced with glass and natural fibers. J Appl Polym Sci 108:2494–2502
Ratna Prasad AV, Mohana Rao K (2011) Mechanical properties of natural fibre reinforced polyester composites: jowar, sisal and bamboo. Mater Des 32:4658–4663
Roger H, Newman EC, Clauss JEP, Carpenter AT (2007) Epoxy composites reinforced with deacetylated phormium tenax leaf fibres. Compos A 38:2164–2170
Sreekumar PA, Albert P, Unnikrishnan G, Joseph K, Thomas S (2008) Mechanical and water sorption studies of ecofriendly banana fiber-reinforced polyester composites fabricated by RTM. J Appl Polym Sci 109:1547–1555
Srinivasababu N, Murali Mohan Rao K, Suresh KJ (2010) Tensile properties of turmeric fibre reinforced polyester composites. Ind J Fibre Text Res 35:324–329
Uma Devi L, Bhagawan SS, Thomas S (1997) Mechanical properties of pineapple leaf fiber reinforced polyester composites. J Appl Polym Sci 64:1739–1748
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Srinivasababu, N., Kumar, J.S., Reddy, K.V.K., Rao, G.S. (2014). Indian Date Leaf FRP Composites: Mechanical and Dielectric Properties. In: Hakeem, K., Jawaid, M., Rashid, U. (eds) Biomass and Bioenergy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07641-6_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07641-6_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-07640-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-07641-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)