Characterization and Comparative Analysis on Mechanical and Acoustical Properties of Camellia Sinensis/Ananas Comosus/Glass Fiber Hybrid Polymer Composites

Abstract

During last few decades, the hybrid composites emerged from natural fiber has brought incontestable advantages over synthetic materials. The environmental impact such as toxicity, nonbiodegradable garbage, and noise pollution has led to the identification of new class of fibers and also subsequent failure in critical stiffness and weight sensitivities of fiber-reinforced polymers has initiated magnification of mechanical toughness. In this present paper, fiber-reinforced composite materials are made with Camellia sinensis–Ananas comosus hybridized by glass fiber and epoxy resin matrix. The amalgamated laminates were forged by a compression molding process with the composition of 40% wt. of reinforcing fiber and 60% wt. of epoxy matrix in a constant proportion. A hydrophilic content present inside natural fibers are alkalized by 5% of NaOH to modify as hydrophobic nature for intensifying bonding between fiber and matrix. These hybridized fibers are mechanically, chemically, morphologically, and acoustically analyzed to meet the requirements of mechanical and sound proofing properties. The results shows that 25% wt. fraction of Camellia sinensis amalgamate with unidirectional fiber shows better average acoustical absorption coefficient (AAC) of 0.46 at 2000–6300 Hz frequency range and compared with existing material to establish the potential of using it in sound-proofing acoustical applications such as architectural acoustics, sound recording and reproduction room, noise barrier walls, loudspeaker design, etc.

Keywords

• camellia sinensis
• alkaline treatment
• hydrophobic nature
• hybridization
• morphological
• acoustical applications