Effect of Fiber Loadings and Treatment on Dynamic Mechanical, Thermal and Flammability Properties of Pineapple Leaf Fiber and Kenaf Phenolic Composites

This study deals with the analysis of dynamic mechanical,thermal and flammability properties of treated and untreated pineapple leaf fiber(PALF)and kenaf fiber(KF)phenolic composites.Results indicated that storage modulus was decreased for all composites with increases in temperature and pattern of slopes for all composites,having almost the same values of E′at glass transition temperature(Tg).The peak of the loss modulus of pure phenolic composites was shown to be much less.After the addition of kenaf/PALF,peaks were higher and shifted towards a high temperature.The Tan delta peak height was low for pure phenolic composites and maximum for 60%PALF phenolic composites.Cole-Cole analysis was carried out to understand the phase behavior of the composite samples.Thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)results indicated that pure phenolic composites have better thermal stability than PALF and kenaf phenolic composites.Vertical and horizontal UL-94 tests were conducted and showed pure phenolic resin is highly fire resistant.The overall results showed that treated KF composites enhanced the dynamic mechanical and thermal properties among all PALF/KF composites.

The Effect of Fibre Length on Flexural and Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Pineapple Leaf Fibre Composites

The present paper deals with the effect of loading different pineapple leaf fibre(PALF)length(short,mixed and long fibres)and their reinforcement for the fabrication of vinyl ester(VE)composites.Performance of PALF/VE composites was investigated through three-point bending flexural testing and viscoelastic(dynamic)mechanical properties through dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA).DMA results revealed that the long PALF/VE composites displayed better mechanical,damping factor and dynamic properties as compared to the short and mixed PALF/VE composites.The flexural strength and modulus of long PALF/VE composites were 113.5 MPa and 14.3 GPa,respectively.The storage(E′)and loss(E″)moduli increased to 2000 MPa and 225 MPa respectively for PALF/VE composites.Overall result analysis indicated that increasing the length of the reinforcement fibre results in satisfactory mechanical performance and dynamic properties of composites.

Performance Evaluation of Calcium Alkali-treated Oil Palm/Pineapple Fibre/Bio-phenolic Composites

The utilisation of oil palm fibre(OPF)and pineapple leaf fibres(PALF)as reinforcement materials for bio-phenolic composites is growing especially in automotive lightweight applications.The major aim of this current study is to investigate the influence of alkali(Ca(OH)_(2)) treatment on pure and hybrid composites.The effects of enhancements in chemical interactions were evaluated by the Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer(FTIR).Dynamic Mechanical Analysis(DMA)and Thermogravimetric Analysis(TGA)performance of untreated reinforcements(OPF and PALF)and treated(OPF/OPF)composites at varying temperature and noted sufficient interfacial bonding contributing towards the improvements in thermal stability.From DMA results,the storage modulus improved with treated composites while the damping factor was reduced.Furthermore,the treated hybrid composites exhibited significant improvements in thermal stability compared to untreated fibre composites.The results indicated that alkali calcium hydroxide(Ca(OH2(:T)incorporation in hybrid composites(OPF/PALF)results in increased tensile strength and modulus among all composites.Similarly,the alkali-treated(Ca(OH)_(2))-treated pure composite(T/50%PALF),and hybrid composites(T/1OPF.1PALF)exhibited better flexural strength as compared with other composites.In contrast,the T/50%PALF showed higher flexural stress of 78.2 MPa,while the flexural modulus was recorded at 6503 MPa.It can be proposed from the findings of this study that the alkali treatment(5%Ca(OH)_(2))can be utilised to improve the strength and efficiency of agriculture biomass to be used as reinforcements in composites.Additionally,the hybridisation of bio-fibre composites has the potential as a novel variety of biodegradable and sustainable composites appropriate for several industrial and engineering applications.