Characterization of silane treated Malaysian Yankee Pineapple AC6 leaf fiber (PALF) towards industrial applications

This research studied the effects of silane treatment at different soaking time: 1, 3, 5 h,on the properties of new variant Yankee’s Pineapple AC6 leaf fiber (PALF). The propertiesof untreated and treated PALF was evaluated through several testing. The Si element wasfound on all treated fiber’s surface through Energy-Dispersive X-ray, while significant peakswere clearly seen for these treated fibers at 1317.81 and 1100 cm−1by Fourier TransformInfrared Spectroscopy. X-Ray Diffractor analyses showed small changes on the crystallinityof all treated fiber disregards the treatment and soaking time as compared to untreatedfiber. Improvement on the degradation temperature of all treated fibers to 360◦C from 340◦C was seen from the thermogravimetric analysis. Maximum surface roughness and tensilestrength were found for treated fibers at 3 h soaking time by atomic force microscope andsingle fiber testing respectively. The analyses suggested the potential Yankee’s PALF to beused in composites for various industrial applications

Characterization of Lignocellulosic Biomass from Malaysian’s Yankee Pineapple AC6 Toward Composite Application

The aim of this paper is to study the properties of the newly Malaysian pineapple variety, namely, Yankee pineapple’s leaf fibers (PALF) biofillers in composite applications. The fibers were extracted from the leaves, which were currently being thrown away or burned down. Comprehensive characterization of Yankee’s PALF was carried out to determine its chemical composition, surface morphology, and mechanical, crystallinity, and thermal properties. The results showed that the fiber had a high thermal degradation of 340°C (34% yield). On top of that, the fiber surface elemental composition captures carbon (53.56%) which had the highest atomic percentage followed by oxygen (42.93%) and potassium (3.51%). In addition, the fiber had a rough external surface observed through atomic force microscope analysis, resulting in good compatibility with the matrix polymer. The crystal index of fiber and its size give 55.22% and 2.17-nm values, respectively. Furthermore, 40 mm gauge length of single fiber had the highest tensile strength, which is 420.3 MPa compared to other values of the gauge length

Flexural, Dynamic and Thermo-Mechanical Analysis of Pineapple Leaf Fiber/Epoxy Composites

The properties of pineapple leaf fiber composites drawn from the vastly untapped Yankee pineapple plant variant were tested in this study. The properties of silane treated (T-PALFC) and untreated (UT-PALFC) samples were evaluated using flexural testing, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and thermomechanical analysis (TMA). In this study, the T-PALFC sample was specifically treated in silane for 3 hours. The results show that the bending strength is improved by up to 97% in PALF composite compared to epoxy composite.The DMA results show that the UT-PALFC possess 7.1% higher storage modulus than T-PALFC, indicating untreated fiber attribute to high dynamic property in composite. The TMA finding shows the sequence of linear coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) as follows: T-PALFC > Neat epoxy > UT-PALFC. Furthermore, this research shows T-PALFC displayed lower properties compared to UT-PALFC because the composite had low cross-linked network. This is because T-PALFC had low glass transition temperature, Tg as shown in tan delta curve and was further supported in differential scanning calorimetry analysis. Moreover, morphological analysis of the cross-section image of the T-PALFC shows the existence of a wide gap between the PALF and the matrix compared to UT-PALFC

Flexural properties of kenaf fibre hybrid and non-hybrid composite materials

Natural fibre are well known for its properties where it has low density and it is also better in form of cost efficiency compared to synthetic fibre. There are not too much difference between specific properties of natural fibre and synthetic fibre although the natural fibre strength is significantly lower than synthetic fibre. This study discusses the flexural properties of a hybrid composite made from both natural fibre and synthetic fibre. In this research, kenaf fibre – non-treated and treated with NaOH solution – as well as x-ray film – non-treated and surface treated with consistent holes were chosen to investigate its flexural properties. The number of layers in this study is maintain throughout the research, which are seven layers of kenaf – treated and untreated – as well as alternating layers between kenaf fibre and x-ray films – also treated and untreated. The specimen were prepared using the normal hand lay-up process and it was tested by the three-point bending method using Instron 4204 at a speed of 15mm/min. Even though the test showed expected problems such as interfacial bonding issues, there are improvements due to treatment and the hybridization. The specimen showed results of flexural modulus of up to 8.83GPa for treated fully kenaf configuration and 3.36GPa for alternative configuration with treated kenaf. The higher flexural modulus is suitable for applications which desire a more rigid structure like a spall linear or car bumper, while the specimen with the lower flexural modulus is suitable for a more flexible structure like body armour

Characterization of silane treated Malaysian Yankee Pineapple AC6 leaf fiber (PALF) towards industrial applications

This research studied the effects of silane treatment at different soaking time: 1, 3, 5 h, on the properties of new variant Yankee’s Pineapple AC6 leaf fiber (PALF). The properties of untreated and treated PALF was evaluated through several testing. The Si element was found on all treated fiber’s surface through Energy-Dispersive X-ray, while significant peaks were clearly seen for these treated fibers at 1317.81 and 1100 cm−1 by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. X-Ray Diffractor analyses showed small changes on the crystallinity of all treated fiber disregards the treatment and soaking time as compared to untreated fiber. Improvement on the degradation temperature of all treated fibers to 360 °C from 340 °C was seen from the thermogravimetric analysis. Maximum surface roughness and tensile strength were found for treated fibers at 3 h soaking time by atomic force microscope and single fiber testing respectively. The analyses suggested the potential Yankee’s PALF to be used in composites for various industrial applications