Erosion Wear Behaviour of Kenaf/Glass Hybrid Polymer Composites

The awareness amongst the researchers to develop an environment friendly sustainable material leads to explore new class of plant-based fiber for making composites. Hybridization of such plant-based fiber with inclusion of engineered fiber is one of the promising methods to not only enhanced the mechanical performance but also suppressed the drawbacks that associate with such plant-based fiber to some extent. A usual hand lay-up method was taken-up in this work to fabricate four layered of hybrid kenaf(K)/glass(G)polyester laminates with different stacking order such as KKKK,KGKG,KGGK,GKKG and GGGG. The erosive character of the laminates was examined under three distinct particle velocities(48m/s, 70m/s,82m/s)and four different impact angles(30°, 45°, 60°, 90°). All fabricated laminates exhibited a semiductile character at lower velocities(48m/s and70m/s)as peak wear rate was observed at45° impact angle. However,they showed a semi-brittle character at high velocity(82m/s)as maximum rate of erosion was noticed at60° impact angle. Again,the influence of stacking order of piles on erosion wear was also clearly noticed. Moreover,the semi-brittle/semi-ductile characterization was also evidenced in accordance to the range of erosion efficiencies. The micro-structures of worn surfaces were inspected thoroughly from the images of scanning electron microscope(SEM)to evident the mechanism of erosion.

Performance Improvement of Kenaf/Glass Polymer Hybrid Composites by Effective Application of Fish Scale Powder as Filler:A Novel Approach

Modern technology for developing new items made from renewable resources is becoming more and more popular as a result of rising environmental concern.Recently,contemporary polymer composites have included the hybridization of natural fibers with synthetic ones,along with the inclusion of a variety of biowaste filler for developing sustainable goods.In this work,the kenaf/glass hybrid polyester composites are strengthened by the addition of fish scale(FS),which is taken from the fish􀆳s outermost layer of skin.Five different stacked-order laminates,such as KKKK,KGKG,GKKG,KGGK,and GGGG,are fabricated by using the hand lay-up method with four different weight concentrations of filler content:0%,5%,10%,and 15%.Mechanical possessions such as tensile,flexural,impact strength and micro-hardness have been evaluated through experimentation in accordance with ASTM standards.The experimental findings revealed that,the tensile strength and micro-hardness value of KGKG laminates with 15wt%of FS filler are found to be maximum of 118.72 MPa and 17.82 HV respectively which are 39.67%and 26.11%greater than that of KGKG laminates without FS filler.However,the flexural and impact strength of same laminates with 10 wt%FS filler exhibited a maximum value of 142.77 MPa and 62.08 kJ/m2.In order to corroborate its applicability for structural and building materials in open environment,the dimensional stability of the composite has been studied through moisture absorption test.The influences of FS filler loading on dimensional stability and resistance to moisture absorption capacity of laminates are also investigated.The experimental results reflected that the addition of FS-filler has significantly improved the dimensional stability of the laminates in moist environment by reducing the moisture absorption tendency.To further support the mode of failures,a fractography investigation of fractured surfaces was conducted.