Effects of fiber type, content, orientation, and surface treatments on the mechanical properties of PAFRP composite

In present scenario, natural fibers are the preferred choice of manufactures to fabricate the sustainable polymer matrix composites. These composites may be a good substitute for synthetic materials after achieving the comparable strength with some treatments. Pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) contains high cellulose with low micro fibrillar angle which leads to decent inherent fiber strength. It is used for reinforcement in the proposed work to fabricate the epoxy matrix composite using hand layup method. During testing of composite, the effects of fiber content, type, and orientations on mechanical properties have been examined. Samples were prepared by varying the fiber type (short and long fiber), fiber orientations (at 0 degrees, 90 degrees, and 45 degrees) and fiber contents by weight % (i.e., 5, 10, 15 and 25). The results of mechanical characterization reveal that the tensile and flexural strength for short fiber composite is found maximum at 25% of fiber content (20.85 MPa and 42.70 MPa, respectively). However, long fiber reinforced composite with 5% of fiber content exhibits maximum tensile and flexural strength as: 35.72 MPa and 56.19 MPa. The maximum flexural strength and impact strength of composite were found as 52.98 MPa and 25.30 J m-2, respectively when the fibers are oriented at 0 degrees. The maximum values of water absorption in composite were found as: 1.74% for short fiber and 1.25% for long fiber reinforced composites. The Fourier transform infrared radiation (FTIR) spectroscopy confirms the removal of non-cellulose contents within the composite. Finally, the morphological analysis was carried out to find the debonding, splitting and pull-out of fibers within the composites which are the major reasons of composite failure.