EFFECT OF FIBER CONTENT ON TENSILE AND FLEXURAL STRENGTH OF WATER LILY FIBER REINFORCED POLYESTER RESIN COMPOSITE

Ethiopia has abundant invasive aquatic plants like water hyacinth and water lily. Large masses of these invasive plants have a negative impact on the country's water bodies, specifically at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, by infesting and deteriorating water quality and reducing the quantity of water. In this research work, an attempt was made to fabricate a natural fiber reinforced composite in which water lily fiber was used as the reinforcing material in a polyester resin matrix. Chopped water lily fiber reinforced polyester resin composites were prepared by varying the fiber content - 20, 40 and 60 wt.%. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength and flexural strength were tested as per ASTM standards to evaluate the influence of the fiber contents. The experimental results show that an increase in the fiber content enhanced the mechanical properties of the water lily fiber reinforced polyester composite. It was found that the composite with 40 wt.% fiber exhibited superior strength which could be suitably used for different applications.