Preparation and characterization of Styrene-Methyl Methacrylate in Deproteinized Natural Rubber Latex (SMMA-DPNR)

The graft polymerization of Styrene and Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) onto deproteinized natural rubber latex (SMMA-DPNR) was carried out using ammonium peroxy disulfate (N2H8O8S2) as an initiator. The suitable reaction conditions based on the higher monomer conversion was determined. The SMMA-DPNR at 6 hours reaction time was successfully prepared with degree of conversion more than 99 %. The copolymers composition of the resultant SMMA-DPNR was obtained using 1H-NMR Spectroscopy. As expected, composition of styrene in DPNR was higher than that of MMA due to the higher reactivity ratio of styrene monomer as compared to MMA monomer and the structure of the NR backbone

Pultruded Kenaf Fibre Reinforced Composites: Effect of Different Kenaf Fibre Yarn Tex

AbstractManufacturing high performance composites from natural fibres is one of an ambitious goal currently being pursued by researchers across the globe. The ecological benefits of this material among many others are environmentally friendly and do not cause health problems. In terms of sustainability, the natural fibre is an appropriate alternative candidate to replace the synthetic and other types of reinforcement since it is a renewable resource. In order for natural fibre reinforced composite to become competitive, it has to accommodate the processing avenues of which has long being associated with its synthetic counterpart. Among those proven technology in manufacturing advanced engineering component is pultrusion. In this paper, an attempt has been made to produce pultrudedkenaf fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites via pultrusion. The properties of the pultrudedkenaf fibre reinforced composites with different kenaf yarn sizes are reported and compared. Pultruded composites made with smaller tex number i.e. tex 1400 shows better compression properties of as compared to larger tex number. Smaller tex number help to produce better wetting on fibre during production of composites, consequently help to increase its properties. Pultruded composites made with smaller tex number i.e. tex 1400 shows better compression properties of as compared to larger tex number. Smaller tex number help to produce better wetting on fibre during production of composites, consequently help to increase its properties

Green Composites from Ionic Liquid-Assisted Processing of Sustainable Resources: A Brief Overview

The massive use of synthetic, petroleum-based polymeric composites has disturbed the fragile environmental equilibrium of our planet. Composites made solely from polysaccharides can offer unique intrinsic properties such as renewability, biodegradability, easy availability, eco-friendliness, facile processing, flexibility, and exciting physico-mechanical characteristics. The development of green processing of lignocellulosic materials and bio-based polymers such as cellulose, starch, chitin, and chitosan, the most abundant biorenewable materials on earth, is urgent from the perspectives of both environmental protection and sustainability in materials industries. Recently, the enormous potential of ionic liquids (ILs) as an alternative to ecologically harmful conventional organic solvents has been well recognized. Presently, a wide range of pronounced approaches have been explored to further improve the performance of ionic liquid-based processing of polysaccharides for green composite manufacturing. This review presents recent technological developments in which the advantages of ionic liquids as a dissolution medium for polysaccharides for production of plethora of green composites have been gradually realized

Medical Implant Production using Three-Dimensional Printing as a Potential Manufacturing Process in Medical Application / Siti Norsyahirah Abdul Razak ...[et al.]

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is one of the rapid prototyping (RP) technologies that can be a potential manufacturing process in medical application such as implant manufacturing. 3D printing is a layer manufacturing technique and can act as direct production of medical implant. In this research, implant manufacturing process by using MakerBot Replicator 2X 3D printer is proposed as improved alternative of the previous conventional implant production method. This study attempted to investigate the production time and production cost of medical implant manufacturing as compared to the conventional methods. As compared to the conventional method of implant manufacturing, the production time is much shorter than expected and the production cost is more affordable. The results show that 3D printer which is MakerBot Replicator 2X is feasible for direct production of implant manufacturing

The tensile evaluation of the Epoxy/Keratin short fibre as new composites / Ahmad Zafir Romli, Mohd Hanafiah Abidin and Hazizan Md Akil

Production of bio-composites using biodegradable filler/fibre or matrix has been increasing steadily for the past decade. In the case of fibre reinforced polymer composites, natural fibres such as jute, hemp and kenaf have been widely reported. Apart from cellulosic based natural fibre, there are other potential fillers from animal based by-products such as keratin from chicken feathers. In this study, an epoxy/keratin composite has been produced using a pressure assisted hand lay-up technique to form flat homogenized board. The percentage feather content by weight was varied accordingly (i.e. 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 %). The board underwent standard tensile strength testing at 5mm.min-1 and elucidated that the ultimate tensile strength and strain decreases as the feather composition percentage increases. The Young’s modulus indicated little effect with increasing feather composition percentage. A fractured piece of sample produced from the tensile testing was evaluated with respect to fracture behaviour using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tensile testing indicates that the composite with the maximum feather composition percentage (50 %) has the potential to be used in non-structural applications

Investigation on the mechanical properties of rubberized steel fiber concrete

Researchers investigated the utilization of crumb rubber aggregate recycled from waste tire in concrete to solve the problem of discarded tire and to produce a green sustainable concrete. However, a reduction in the mechanical properties due to crumb rubber inclusion occurs. Steel fiber rubberized concrete used in this study to provide a balance between the strength loss and sustainable issue. An investigation on the mechanical properties of rubberized concrete combined with hooked – end steel fiber is presented. Rubberized concrete with different replacement ratios of crumb rubber was incorporated in plain and steel fiber concrete mixes via partial replacement of fine aggregate. Four replacement ratios (17.5%, 20%, 22.5%, and 25%) were used to investigate the effect of the partial replacement of fine aggregate by crumb rubber on the mechanical properties of plain and steel fiber concrete. In both mixes, reduction in mechanical properties was observed to be proportionate with the increment of crumb rubber. Finally, a successful combination of steel fiber and crumb rubber was obtained due to improvement of strain capacity under flexural loading

Pultruded Natural Fibre Reinforced Composites: Preparation, Properties And Applications

Environmentally friendly composites are today highly required by utilizing natural fibers as reinforcement combined with biodegradable polymer as matrices

Study On Dynamic Mechanical Properties Of Pultruded Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Composites.

This paper reports the dynamic mechanical properties of pultruded kenaf fiber reinforced composites

Optimization of the 3D Printing Parameters on Dimensional Accuracy and Surface Finishing for New Polyamide 6 and Its Composite Used in Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Process / Tuan Noraihan Azila Tuan Rahim...[et al.]

Currently, 3D printing is emerged as one of the attractive manufacturing option to build intricate parts without human intervention. However, the users must be aware of the inherent printer’s limitation, particularly related with geometric tolerance of printed materials. This study aims to determine the optimum parameters to fabricate polyamide 6 and filled polyamide through fused deposition modeling (FDM). The studied parameters including printing speed (10-100 mm/s), temperature (240-260°C) and addition of fillers (10 wt%). The rheological properties were evaluated to estimate the behaviour of polyamides through the FDM system. In order to obtain a part with achievable accuracy between the designed and actual dimension, the accuracy of printed part manufactured using production-grade FDM 3D printer by Statasys Ltd. was used as a benchmark and also assigned in a statistical equation. The surface finishing was also studied under stereomicroscope. It was found that all parameters have a substantial influence on the rheological behaviours. Generally, increasing the printing speed improves its dimensional accuracy however higher temperatures than 250°C was not desired as it lowers the melt viscosity and reduce the geometric precision. The presence of fillers modifies the rheological behavior of the materials with respect to the unfilled polymer, in which the viscosity was slightly reduced particularly at higher shear rates. It can be concluded that high geometric precision and surface finishing can be achieved if the printing settings were correctly set up especially for new materials in FDM process

Activated carbon from various agricultural wastes by chemical activation with KOH : preparation and characterization

Activated carbons (AC) were prepared by pyrolysis from oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB), bamboo stem (BS), and coconut shells (CNS) at 800 °C by using potassium hydroxide under nitrogen atmosphere. The influence of temperature and type of agricultural biomass on surface area and morphological properties investigated. Activated carbon produced from BS have a higher specific surface area (1212 m2 g−1) and microporosity percentage than those produced from oil palm EFB, and CNS lies in the range of commercial activated carbons. The morphological analysis of the samples was determined by scanning electron microscopy. The external surfaces are full of cavities and quite irregular as a result of activation. X-ray diffraction analysis showed degree of crystallinity 13.25% in case of AC-BS sample while AC-EFB and AC-CNS showed a crystallinity of 1.68% and 8.19%, respectivel