Investigation of mechanical properties of rattan and bamboo fiber reinforced vinyl ester composite material for automotive application

Abstract

In scope of this research, manufacturing and mechanical characterization of rattan and bamboo fiber reinforced vinyl ester composite material were carried out. Bamboo and rattan fiber was extracted by using retting process followed by chemical treatment to enhance mechanical properties. The composite was manufactured using bidirectional fiber mat in vacuum bag molding and hand layup process. The weight fraction between reinforcement and matrix was 24% and 76% respectively. Three types of composites were manufactured; Bamboo Fiber Composite (BFC), Rattan Fiber Composite (RFC), and Rattan (12%) and Bamboo (12%) Fiber Composite (RBFC). Different mechanical behavior of the composite was investigated, such as tensile strength, flexural strength, hardness, and impact strength. The maximum flexural and impact strength was found for RBFC with 57.66 MPa and 44.49 kJ/m2, respectively. It was found that about 29% and 17% of flexural strength and 29% and 78% of impact strength was improved for RBFC than BFC and RFC respectively. Finally, fabricated composites mechanical characteristics were compared to the Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene or ABS plastic materials mechanical characteristics.

Keywords

• Vacuum bag molding
• Rattan fiber
• ABS plastic
• Vinyl ester
• Mechanical properties