Influence of Alkali Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Short Cocos nucifera Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Based Sustainable Green Composite

Abstract

The present study deals with finding the optimum fiber content and effect of alkali treatment on the mechanical properties of the proposed Cocos-nucifera-reinforced polymer matrix composite. The present work is carried out in two different phases. First, the optimum fiber weight fractions for untreated Cocos nucifera composite are found out and later the effect of alkali treatment on the mechanical behavior of composite with optimum weight fraction of fibers selected in the first phase is determined. Proposed composites are mechanically characterized to determine the optimum fiber percentage to be used in composite and the effect of NaOH treatment on the mechanical properties of the composite with optimum fiber percentage is studied along with the determination of optimal NaOH concentration to be used. The results were analyzed by comparing the mechanical properties of the various composites and the effect of alkali treatment on the fibers of the composites was also studied. The obtained results showed that proposed composite with 40 wt% untreated fiber exhibits better mechanical properties compared to its counterparts and treating the fibers of the composite with 10% NaOH concentration further enhances the mechanical properties of the composite. The proposed composite can be a potential candidate for automobile interior application.

Keywords

• cocos nucifera
• sodium hydroxide
• mechanical characterization
• alkali treatment
• sustainable composite
• hand layup