Search

The present study deals with the effects of fiber loading and alkali treatment (AT) on thermal behavior of a hair fiber (HF)-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composite. The HF/HDPE-reinforced polymer composite has been prepared through a compression molding technique, which provided optimum thermal stability at 15 wt% of the fiber in the reinforced composite. The thermal stability of the composite has been investigated using a thermal analyzer [thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), derivative thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)]. The ATs of HF-reinforced composites have affected the thermal stability of the material, in which the observed optimum thermal stability is 0.25 N AT 15% HF/HDPE-reinforced composites. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and tensile test played an important role in the study of the thermal stability of the material. FTIR analysis was used to investigate the chemical groups between the fiber and matrix. The morphology of the fiber is beneficial for the study of the surface treatment effect on the HF. The tensile test examined the optimum strength at 0.25 N AT 15% HF/HDPE composite, and a good relationship between the thermal and mechanical properties was also observed.

This research work investigated the effect of fiber loading and alkali treatment on hair fiber (HF)-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites in terms of mechanical properties and water absorption behavior. The mechanical stability of the composite material was studied by Universal Testing Machine. The alkali treatment of HF-reinforced HDPE composites was responsible for the investigation of the mechanical and water absorption properties. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were also done for the study of the reinforced polymer composites. The results of the SEM analysis were very helpful for the study of the morphology of the fiber-matrix interface for better/optimum mechanical properties.

In the present study, the effect of fiber surface treatments (alkali and acrylic acid) on the thermal degradation behavior of coir fiber (CF)-low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites with or without compatibilizer (maleic anhydride grafted LDPE, MA-g-LDPE) using thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric analyses (TG/DTG) was analyzed and compared with those of untreated fiber composites. The TG/DTG results revealed that the thermal stability of the CF improved after the chemical treatments. However, the composite containing treated fiber showed lower thermal stability and started to degrade at a faster rate above 380°C in comparison to composites containing untreated fiber composites. Furthermore, the addition of MA-g-LDPE led to improvement in the thermal stability of both treated and untreated fiber composites in comparison to the same composite formulation without MA-g-LDPE. The composite containing untreated fiber and MA-g-LDPE demonstrated superior thermal stability among all the formulated composites, indicating strong fiber-matrix adhesion.

In this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate the effect of coir fiber addition along with the banana fiber in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) to develop cost-effective and high-performance composite material. The composite samples were prepared at fixed fiber content (25 wt%) and with varying relative weight fraction of banana and coir fiber using compression molding technique. The effect of hybridization was analyzed through the mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, and impact), thermal stability, morphological behavior, and water absorption behavior. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy studies had been carried out on the tensile fractured surface for all composite samples to examine the fracture behavior of the composite samples. The results showed that the incorporation of coir fiber into the banana fiber composites of up to 50% by weight led to enhancement of the mechanical properties and thermal stability and to reduction of the water absorption capacity of the banana fiber/LDPE composites.

Natural fiber composites offer a sustainable alternative to synthetic polymer composites, addressing the environmental concerns associated with traditional materials. This study aims to investigate the effect of flame‐retardant additives (magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH)2 [A] and aluminum hydroxide Al(OH)3 [B]) on hemp fiber‐based epoxy composites with a different fire retardant (FR) loading, that is, 0%, 8%, 12%, and 24%. An evaluation of flame‐retardant effectiveness on composites was carried out using thermogravimetric analysis, limited oxygen index (LOI), UL‐94 horizontal burning, morphological analysis scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and char residue analysis. The results show that introducing the flame retardants in the hemp–epoxy composites improved the thermal stability and flame retardancy of hemp–epoxy composites When composites were incorporated with flame retardants, the Horizontal burning rate was decreased, and LOI was increased. The lowest Horizontal burning rate of prepared composites was recorded as 11.6 mm/min, and the highest LOI was 25.3%. SEM shows uniform distribution of FR particles in the prepared composite. It is concluded that adding flame‐retardant additives efficiently improves the flame retardancy properties of the prepared composites. Highlights: The mechanical and flammability behavior of developed composites were investigated after adding magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide to composites.An enhancement in flame retardancy and a slight reduction in mechanical properties are observed in composites.The purpose of this study is to expand the area where flame‐retardant ramie fabrics may be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to study the feasibility of using wheat straw fiber with epoxy resin for developing natural fiber-polymer composites. For this purpose, the epoxy resin was reinforced with 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt.% of the wheat straw fiber with the help of the hand lay-up technique. Further, in order to improve the composite characteristic, wheat straw fibers were treated with three different concentrations of alkali (1%, 3%, and 5%). The mechanical and water absorption properties of the treated fiber composites were characterized and compared with those of untreated fiber-filled epoxy composites. It was observed that the mechanical properties and water resistance were reduced with the increase in wheat straw fiber loading from 5 to 25 wt.%. Among the three levels of alkali treatment, the composite made with 3% alkali-treated fiber exhibited superior mechanical properties than the other untreated and treated fiber composites, which pointed to an efficient fiber-matrix adhesion. The scanning electron microscope was used to observe the surface features of the wheat straw fiber.

The present paper deals with a study of the thermal properties of bagasse fiber (BF)-reinforced epoxy composites. BFs are subjected to untreated and chemical treatments with 1% sodium hydroxide followed by 1% acrylic acid at ambient temperature before the composites are made. The thermal stability of the components was studied by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, as well as by differential thermal gravimetric analysis. Thermal analysis results of untreated BF-reinforced epoxy composite were compared with treated BF-reinforced epoxy composite. The chemical treatment of BF induces reasonable changes in the thermal stability of the polymer composites.