THE EFFECT OF KAOLINITE ON TENSILE AND FLEXURAL BEHAVIOR OF SALACCA FIBER - REINFORCED EPOXY/KAOLINTE HYBRID COMPOSITES

The use of filler in composite materials is emerged as a result of increasing demand for the advancement inmaterial properties to satisfy the market necessities. This study presents the effects of kaolinite inclusion ontensile, flexural and characteristics of Salacca fiber/kaolinite reinforced composite laminates. The laminateswere fabricated by hand layup and moulding. Kaolinite particles having four different weight fractions as 1, 3, 6and 9by volume percentages were used for fabrication of composite laminates. The specimens were preparedaccording to ASTM D638 and D790 standards for tensile and flexural tests, respectively. Results obtained fromspecimens having Kaolinite particles showed the serious improvement on the tensile strength, flexural modulusand flexural strength values compared to specimens without kaolinite inclusion.The use of filler in composite materials is emerged as a result of increasing demand for the advancement inmaterial properties to satisfy the market necessities. This study presents the effects of kaolinite inclusion ontensile, flexural and characteristics of Salacca fiber/kaolinite reinforced composite laminates. The laminateswere fabricated by hand layup and moulding. Kaolinite particles having four different weight fractions as 1, 3, 6and 9by volume percentages were used for fabrication of composite laminates. The specimens were preparedaccording to ASTM D638 and D790 standards for tensile and flexural tests, respectively. Results obtained fromspecimens having Kaolinite particles showed the serious improvement on the tensile strength, flexural modulusand flexural strength values compared to specimens without kaolinite inclusion

Mechanical, morphological, and thermal characteristics of epoxy/glass fiber/cellulose nanofiber hybrid composites

Generally, glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites are made in the form of laminated composites. Due to the weak adhesion between the fiber and the polymer matrix, failure in the form of delamination often occurs. To overcome delamination, the incorporation of very low content of nanomaterials has been considered. The effect of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) addition on the mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties of the epoxy/glass fiber/CNFs hybrid composites was evaluated. The hybrid composites containing 1 and 2 wt CNFs were prepared by hand lay-up followed by vacuum bagging and compression. The mechanical characteristics of the composites were investigated through tensile, flexural, short beam shear, and impact tests, while thermal stability was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results revealed that with the presence of 1 wt CNF, the tensile strength and modulus of the epoxy/glass fiber composites were enhanced by 9 and 10, respectively whereas the flexural strength and modulus were increased by 16 and 6, respectively. SEM observations showed the presence of a strong CNF interaction with glass fiber and a thin layer of epoxy interphase around the glass fibers. Moreover, the introduction of 1 wt CNF to the epoxy/glass fiber composite improved the interlaminar shear strength by 11, while the thermal stability did not change. © 2022 The Author