Mechanical properties and water absorption behaviour of treated pineapple leaf fibre reinforced polyester matrix composites...

Investigations were carried out to study the effect of treated pineapple leaf fibre (PALF) on the mechanical properties and water absorption behaviour of reinforced polyester composites. PALF was extracted from pineapple plant using wet retting method. Chemical treatment was carried out on it to hinder water content and enhances good adhesion between fibre and matrix. Both the matrix and the fibre were compounded using hand lay-up method at room temperature. The samples were prepared for tensile test, flexural test, hardness test and water absorption test. It was observed that as the fibre content increases within the matrix, there is corresponding increase in the ultimate tensile strength and modulus of elasticity while there was decrease in the elongation at break. Flexural strength, flexural modulus and hardness properties of the developed composites increase linearly from 10 wt% to 30 wt% fibre loading and begin to decrease from 40 wt% fibre loading. The results of the water absorption test showed that the amount of water absorbed by the composite increased with increase in fibre loading