Impact of nanoclay on mechanical and structural properties of treated Coccinia indica fibre reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract

Natural fibre composite materials are one such capable material which replaces the conventional and synthetic materials for the practical applications where we require less weight and energy conservation. The present paper emphasizes the effect of Cloisite 30B on the newly identified Coccinia Indica fibre, which is extracted from a medicinal plant (i.e., Cucurbitaceae) by manual process. The chemically treated Coccinia Indica fibre reinforced composite is prepared by using the epoxy resin and the detailed preparation methodology is presented. In this paper, the mechanical properties and morphological characterizations of nanoclay filled chemically treated Coccinia Indica fibre reinforced epoxy composites were compared with the unfilled composite. The experimental evidence shows that the increase in weight percentage of nanoclay enhances the tensile, flexural, impact, compression properties of the treated Coccinia Indica fibre reinforced epoxy composites. These results were also confirmed by the Scanning Electron Microscopy observations of composites and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis of the chemical structure. Fibre pull-outs on the fractured specimen during physical testing of the composites were also investigated. As a results, the presence of 3 wt.% nanoclay provides better interfacial adhesion between fibres and matrix, which gives the best results compare to others. Keywords: Natural fibre, Coccinia Indica, Nanoclay, Epoxy, Mechanical properties, NaOH