Experimental Investigation on Thermal Behavior of Indian Almond – Veli Karuvelam Hybrid Composites

Abstract

Natural fiber composites are gaining more attention in automobile and aerospace industries due to its light weight with better performance. However, its performance is affected by the critical environment such as high temperature. Hence, analyzing the thermal stability of materials is paramount important. In this investigation, natural fiber-based composite was fabricated using Indian almond (I) and Veli karuvelam fibers (V) and its thermal stability was analyzed. Totally, five composites were fabricated viz. I:V(0:1) – 60 wt% epoxy and 40 wt% Veli karuvelam, I:V(1:3) – 60 wt% epoxy, 10 wt% Indian almond, and 30 wt% Veli karuvelam, I:V(1:1) – 60 wt% epoxy, 20 wt% Indian almond, and 20 wt% Veli karuvelam, I:V(3:1) – 60 wt% epoxy, 30 wt% Indian almond, and 10 wt% Veli karuvelam, and I:V(1:0) – 60 wt% epoxy and 40 wt% Indian almond. Thermogravimetric analysis was made, and the best composite was selected, which was further involved into thermal analysis, and the activation energies were determined by KAS and FWO kinetic models. Results showed that the I:V(0:1) composite showed the superior thermal stability compared to all other composites, and an onset degradation temperature of 387.64°C was observed. Further, the average activation energies determined by FWO and KAS models were showed as 51.73 and 42.19 kJ/mol, respectively, for I:V(0:1) composite. Hence, this investigation concludes that the I:V(0:1) composite could be a better candidate in the automobile and aviation fields to adopt the thermal environment.

Keywords

• natural fiber composites
• indian almond fiber
• veli karuvelam fiber
• thermal properties
• thermogravimetric analysis
• activation energy