Abstract
In this study, epoxy resin vacuum infused in screwpine fibres has been used to investigate whether it can emerge as a realistic alternative to glass fibre composites. The screwpine fibres were mercerized and treatment conditions were selected on the basis of cellulose percentage and fibre surface morphology. Experimental design, based on Taguchi’s L9 Orthogonal Array showed that mercerization with 5 % NaOH for 45 min at 75 °C offered optimum results. ANOVA illustrated that temperature was in fact the most influential parameter followed by NaOH concentration and time. ATR-FTIR was used to analyze the fibre-composition change as a result of mercerization. Compression testing of composites showed that alkali-treated fibre composites withstand more load than untreated fibre composites at 5, 10, and 15 % (weight basis) fibre loadings. Fatigue test also confirmed that results are significantly better when composites are made from treated fibre. The outcomes indicate that screwpine fibres may be used as a potential reinforcing material for low-load bearing composites such as automobile components.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Mohanty K. Amar, Manjusri Misra, Lawrence T. Drzal, Susan E. Selke, Bruce R. Harte, Georg Hinrichsen (2005) Natural fibers, biopolymers and biocomposites. CRC Press. Carbohydrate Polymers, Volume 68, Issue 4, p. 809
Ramadevi P, Sampathkumar D, Srinivasa CV, Bennehalli B (2012) Effect of alkali treatment on water absorption of single cellulosic abaca fiber. Bioresources 7(3):3515–3524
Faruk O, Bledzki K, Hans-Peter F, Mohini S (2012) Biocomposites reinforced with natural fibers. Progress in polymer science. Elsevier Publ 37(11):1552–1596
Cristaldi G, Latteri A, Recca G, Cicala G (2010) Composites Based on Natural Fibre Fabrics, Woven Fabric Engineering, Polona Dobnik Dubrovski (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-307-194-7, InTech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/woven-fabric-engineering/composites-based-on-naturalfibre-fabrics
Malkapuram R, Kumar V, Negi YS (2009) Recent development in natural fiber reinforced polypropylene composites. J Reinf Plast Compos 28(10):1169–1189
Kim J, N. N (2010) Mercerization of sisal fibers: effect of tension on mechanical properties of sisal fiber and fiber-reinforced composites. Elsevier Publ Compos A: Appl Sci Manuf 41(9):1245–1252
Dittenber D, Gangarao VS (2012) Critical review on publication on natural composites in infrastructure. Elsevier Publ Compos A: Appl Sci Manuf 43(8):1419–1429
Barreto ACH, Rosa DS, Fechine PBA, Mazzetto SE (2011) Properties of sisal fibres treated by alkali solution and their application into cardanol-based biocomposites. Elsevier Publ Compos A: Appl Sci Manuf 42(5):492–500
Xie Y, Callum ASH, Zefang X, Holger M, Carsten M (2010) Silane coupling agents used for natural fiber/polymer composite. Elsevier Publ Compos A: Appl Sci Manuf 41(7):806–819
Mylsamy K, Rajendran I (2011) Influence of alkali treatment and fibre length on mechanical properties of short agave fibre reinforced epoxy composites. Elsevier Publ Mater Des 32(8–9):4629–4640
Jahn A, Schroder MW, Futing M, Schenzel K, Diepenbrock W. Characterization of alkali treated flax fibres by means of FT Raman spectroscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy 58(10): 2271–2279
Towo A, Ansell P (2007) Fatigue evaluation and dynamic thermal analysis of sisal fibre-thermosetting resin composites. Elsevier Publ Compos Sci Technol 68(3–4):925–932
Towo A, Ansell P (2007) Fatigue of sisal fibre reinforced composites: constant life diagrams and hysteresis loop capture. Elsevier Publ Compos Sci Technol 68(3–4):915–924
Callister WD, Rethwisch D (2009) Material science and engineering, an introduction, 8th edition. Wiley, New York
Alves C, Ferrão P, Silva A, Freitas M, Rodrigues LB, Alves DE (2010) Ecodesign of automotive components making use of natural jute fiber composites. J Clean Prod 18(4):313–327
Abral H, Andriyanto H, Rendi S, Sapuan SM, Ishak MR (2012) Mechanical properties of screw pine (Pandanus Odoratissimus) fibers unsaturated polyester composites. Polym Plast Technol Eng 51(5):500–506
Brink M, & Achigan-Dako EG (2012) Fibres (Vol. 16), p 346. PROTA
Barreto ACH, Rosa DS, Fechine PBA, Mazzetto SE (2011) Properties of sisal fibres treated by alkali solution and their application into cardanol-based biocomposites. Compos A: Appl Sci Manuf 42(5):492–500
Sipiao BLS, Paiva RLM, Goulart SAS, Mulinari DR (2011) Effect of chemical modification on mechanical behavior of polypropylene reinforced pineapple crown fibres composites. Elsevier Publ Procedia Eng 10:2028–2033
Van Soest PJ (1963) Using of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds. A rapid method for the determination of fibre and lignin. J Assoc Off Anal Chem 46:828
Tecator Application SubNote (ASN 3431). The determination of neutral detergent fibre in feed
Tecator Application SubNote (ASN 3436). The determination of acid detergent fibre of feed
Tecator Application SubNote (ASN 3438). The determination of acid detergent lignin in feed
Tecator Application SubNote (ASN 304). Fibre determination using the FibreTec I and M systems
SOOCHETA, V. (2009). Investigation into the Textile applications of fibres extracted from Pandanus Utilis. Personal communication & presentation available at http://vcampus.uom.ac.mu/researchweek/conference2009/uploads/posters/paper1965368.ppt
Ashby MF (2011) Materials selection in mechanical design, 4th edn. Elsevier, USA, p 149
Deepa B, Abraham E, Cherian BM, Bismarck A, Blaker JJ, Pothan LA (2011) Structure, morphology and thermal characteristics of banana nano fibers obtained by steam explosion. Bioresour Technol 102:1988–1997
Dufresne A, Dupeyre D, Vignon MR (2000) Cellulose micro fibrils from potato tuber cells: processing and characterization of starch–cellulose micro fibril composites. J Appl Polym Sci 76:2080–2092
Strömberg C, Guralnick R, Simison B, Speer B, & Cordero A (1998) Laboratory I: Introduction to plant structure. Berkeley: The Museum of Paleontology of the University of California. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/IB181/VPL/Ana/AnaTitle.html
Abraham E, Deepa B, Pothan LA, Jacob M, Thomas S, Cvelbar U, And Anandjiwala R (2011) Extraction of nanocellulose fibrils from lignocellulosic fibres. Elsevier Publ Carbohydr Polym 86(4):1468–1475
Bledzki A, Mamun AA, Volk J (2010) Barley husk and coconut shell reinforced polypropylene composites: the effect of fibre physical, chemical and surface properties. Elsevier Publ Compos Sci Technol 70(5):840–846
Vas s, Ferenc R, Tibor C (2009) Active fiber length distribution and its application to determine the critical fiber length. Elsevier Publ Polym Test 28:752–759
Kristiina O, Mathew AP, Långström R, Nyström B, Kuruvilla J (2009) The influence of fibre microstructure on fibre breakage and mechanical properties of natural fibre reinforced polypropylene. Elsevier Publ Compos Sci Technol 69:1847–1853
Joshi SV, Drzal LT, Mohanty AK, Arora S (2003) Are natural fiber composites environmentally superior to glass fiber reinforced composites. Elsevier Publ Compos A: Appl Sci Manuf 35(3):371–376, March 2004
Vasiliev VV, Morozov EV (2001) Mechanics and analysis of composites. Elsevier, New York
Kaw AK (2006) Mechanics of composite material, 2nd edn. CRC Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton
Prasanna GV, Subbaiah KV (2013) Modification, flexural, impact, compressive properties & chemical resistance of natural fibres reinforced blend composites. Malays Polym J 8(1):38–44
Riedel U (2012) Bio-composites: long natural fibre-reinforced biopolymers. Elsevier Publ Polym Sci: Compr Ref 10:295–315
Ross J (1988) Taguchi techniques for quality engineering. McGraw-Hill, United States
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the timely help rendered by the following staff of the University of Mauritius: Mr. R Sheik Manoga, Ms. Vencatasamy, Mr. Awatar, Mrs. Seeruttun, Mrs. Bissoundoyal, Mrs. Nathalie, Mr. Debiddin and his team.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Deesoruth, A., Ramasawmy, H. & Chummun, J. Investigation into the use of alkali treated screwpine (Pandanus Utilis) fibres as reinforcement in epoxy matrix. Int J Plast Technol 18, 263–279 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12588-014-9082-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12588-014-9082-z