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Investigation of Physico-mechanical Properties of Natural Palm Fiber Reinforced Polyvinyl Chloride Composites

INDRAJIT SAHA
Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong-4202, Bangladesh

SANJIB KUMAR SARKAR
Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chittagong-4202, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Fiber reinforced polymer composites played a dominant role in a variety of applications for their high specific strength and modulus. The present work describes the effects of palm fiber addition on physico-mechanical properties of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the fabricated products increased, while the bulk density, flexural strength and tangent modulus decreased with the increase of fiber addition. The tensile strain decreased with the increase of fiber addition up to 10% and after that it remained nearly constant, while flexural strain remained increasing. There was an initial differential thermal analysis (DTA) peak for both palm fiber and composite, whereas PVC did not have that peak due to water absorption. Thermal analysis of PVC-palm fiber composites has shown that thermal degradation of PVC started ahead of palm fiber. The thermal stability of composite was found to be the average of palm fiber and PVC foam sheet.

Keywords: Natural fiber, Polyvinyl chloride composite, Mechanical properties, Differential thermal analysis

Location:

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Postharvest and Agro-processing

Commodity: Hardboard

Objectives:

The present work shows the investigation of physical, mechanical, thermal and water absorption properties of PVC-palm fiber polymer composite.

Methodology:

The chief raw materials used for the sample preparation of composite were palm fibers and PVC collected from rural area and local market, respectively. The diving end of the middle hard part of the palm leaves were beaten gently with a hummer and were soaked in water where microorganisms were present for 20 days. This process is called retting which can partially decompose the leaves. The rotten materials were then washed with clean water and the loose fibers were separated. After drying in the room temperature, fibers were cut into length of 125 mm with the help of a pair of scissors. These fibers were kept at a dry environment (Oven-Memmert, Model-600) for 24 hrs at 100⁰C for palm partial removal of moisture. Arrangement of chopped palm fibers and PVC were done homogeneously for the better quality of the products. A special molding device was made by mild steel to very close tolerance for the molding process. The mixture of fiber and matrix is cast by simply arranging the raw materials into the mold and leveling it to the desired thickness. Only slight stamping or hammering on the mold is required for sufficient compaction. PVC- palm fiber (long) reinforced composites were fabricated using a simple hot press molding method (450 KN Weber-Press). The press consisted of pressing, heating and cooling system. The mixtures were taken after using a little amount of mold releasing agent. The heating temperatures and initial pressure were set at 160⁰C and 50 KN, respectively. After reaching the set temperature, the holding time was taken 15 minutes. Then pressure was increased up to 100 KN and stopped the heating system. Then the system was allowed to cool by tap water through the outer area of the heating plates of Weber press machine and the specimen was then de-molded by a set up device which was made as a makeshift device. The bulk density of the specimen was determined according to the ASTM C134-76 (2002). The tensile test method covers the determination of the tensile properties of reinforced plastics composites when tested under defined conditions of the testing machine speed. Tensile specimen was prepared according to ASTM D638-98 (2002) and the test speed was 2 mm/min. Flexural specimen was prepared according to ASTM D790-98 (2002). The specimen average dimension was (116 × 11 × 4.2) mm³ and support -span was 96 mm. The test speed was taken as 2 mm/min. Hounsfield UTM 10 KN (H10KS) was used to test tensile, flexural strength, compression and shear properties of materials. Electric balance (HF 200) was used for measuring weight of the sample. Thermal analysis included a group of techniques where some physical properties of the sample were monitored under controlled conditions with variation of temperature at a programmed rate. Composites were taken using a computer controlled TG/DTA 6300 system controlled on an EXSTAR 6000 STATION, Seiko Instrument Inc., Japan. The TG/DTA module uses a horizontal system balance mechanism. The specifications of the instrument were: Heating rate; 0.01 to 100.00 K/min., TGA measuring range: ± 200 mg (0.2 μg), DTA measuring range: ± 1000 μV (0.06 μV), gas flow: ≤ 1000 m/min. Water intake specimen was prepared according to ASTM designation: D 570-81 (2002). The test specimen was 76 - 76.2 mm length, 25.4 - 25.6 mm. width, and 3 - 4 mm height. In all cases a protective gel coat (araldite) was applied on the cut sides to prevent penetration of water from cut sides.

Source of Information: Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 38, No. 1, 83-92, 2014

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The tensile strain decreased with the increase of fiber addition up to 10% and after that it remained nearly constant, while flexural strain remained increasing. There was an initial differential thermal analysis (DTA) peak for both palm fiber and composite, whereas PVC did not have that peak due to water absorption. Thermal analysis of PVC-palm fiber composites has shown that thermal degradation of PVC started ahead of palm fiber. The thermal stability of composite was found to be the average of palm fiber and PVC foam sheet.

Knowledge Management: Journal