[Reddy, 2(10): October, 2013] ISSN: 2277-9655

Impact Factor: 1.852

IJESRT
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH
TECHNOLOGY
Development and Testing Of Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites With Polyester
Resin
S. Sunil Kumar Reddy*1, S.P. Akbar Hussain2
*1,2
Associate Professor, Mechanical Department, N.B.K.R.I.S.T, Vidyanagar, Nellore, A.P, India
[email protected]
Abstract
Now --a – days most of the automotive parts are made with different materials which cannot be recycled.
Recently European Union (E.U) and Asian countries have released stringent norms concerning automotive end-life
requirements i.e the parts of the automotives should be recycled. This increased the use of natural fibres in
composite materials. Natural fibers have recently become more attractive to researchers, engineers and scientists as
an alternative reinforcement for fiber reinforced polymer composites. Due to their low cost, low density, stiffness,
fairly good mechanical properties, high specific strength, non-abrasive, eco-friendly and biodegradable
characteristics, they are exploited as a replacement for the conventional fiber, such as glass, aramid and carbon. The
tensile properties of natural fiber reinforced polymers (both thermoplastics and thermosets) are mainly influenced by
the interfacial adhesion between the matrix and the fibers. Further the mechanical properties can be improved with
several chemical modifications on the composites. In the present work, natural fiber (sisal, hemp, hemp and sisal
combination) reinforced polyester resin composites were produced and are tested for mechanical properties and
further compared with the normal plastics. The mechanical properties of sisal and hemp reinforced polyester resin
composites were found to increase with increasing fiber weight fraction. In important properties hemp and sisal
combination composite showed the best.

Keywords: Hemp, Sisal, Polyster resin, Thermoplastics, Thermosets

Introduction
Many of our automotive applications require Generally these composites are made of matrix and
materials with different combination of properties that reinforced materials. The matrix material supports the
cannot be met by the conventional metal alloys. These reinforcement materials by maintaining their relative
conventional metal alloys are neither degradable nor positions. The reinforcements impart special mechanical
recycled. So, now-a-days these are all replaced by and physical properties to the matrix material.
composites. These composites are having major Depending upon the composition of these two
applications in aero space, transportation, construction, constituents in the composites the strength of the material
sports, packaging etc. Besides good corrosion resistance, will vary [3, 6]. So the designer of the automotive
composite materials exhibit good resistant to extreme products can choose an optimum combination of these
temperatures and wear especially in industrial sectors. composites for their requirements.
The fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is a composite The role of matrix in a fiber-reinforced
material with high strength fibers such as glass, aramid composites are (i) To keep the fibers in place (ii) To
and carbon [2]. Normally the polymers are classified into transfer stresses between the fibers (iii) To provide a
two types. Those are thermoplastics and thermo settings. barrier against an adverse environment such as chemicals
The most commonly used thermoplastics are poly vinyl and moisture (iv) To protect the surface of the fibers
chloride (PVC), while epoxy resins are the commonly from mechanical degradation.
used thermo settings. Now-a-days this epoxy resin Fibers are the principal constituents in a fiber -
attracted many researchers due to their advantages over reinforced composite material .They occupy the largest
the conventional fibers like glass and carbon fibers [4]. volume fraction in a composite laminate and share the
Composite materials (composites) are made major portion of the load acting on a composite structure.
from two or more constituent materials with significantly So for particular application selection of fiber type is
different physical or chemical properties which remain important because it influences the characteristics of the
separate and distinct within the finished structure. composite laminate like density, strength, conductivity

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and cost. Natural fibers such as banana, cotton, coir, • These sisal and hemp fibers are chemically treated
sisal, hemp and jute have attracted the scientists and with two different types of chemicals namely
technologists for the various applications [4]. Li et al. hydrogen peroxide and NaOH at various
[5] reported that flax fiber content from 10-30% by mass concentration levels. The purpose of chemical
was mixed with high density polyethylene (HDPE) by treatment is to remove the moisture content in sisal
extrusion and injection moulding to produce composites. and hemp fibers and to increase their tensile strengt.
The results showed that increasing fiber content • These fibers were pre-treated with alkaline solution
increases the mechanical properties up to 20% by volume which is prepared in different concentration of
and then it dropped. Khoathane et al [1] found that the NaOH for an hour under constant stirring and 24
tensile strength and young’s modulus of composite hours at room temperature and then dried in open air
reinforced with hemp fibers increased incredibly with for 7 to 8 days. With this the moisture content in the
increasing fiber loading. It has been concluded from the fiber will be completely removed.
mathematical modeling that the predicted and • Then these extracted fibers are allowed to dry and
experimental tensile strength of natural fibers are very they are packed in air tight covers as shown in the
close to each other. following figure
Among all hemp and sisal are best and in the
present work the composite material is produced with
these plants and evaluated various mechanical properties.
The main advantages of them over the other conventional
are low cost and mechanical properties and
biodegradable tendency [3] but the major drawback of
natural fiber composite is its incompatibility between
natural fibers and thermoplastic materials. This leads to
the undesirable properties in the composites. So some
chemical treatment is necessary to improve the adhesion
characteristics between the fiber and matrix. Hu and Lim
[7] investigated that alkali treatment improved the tensile
properties of hemp fiber reinforce polylactic acid (PLA)
compare to those untreated. Liu et al [8] evaluated the
effects of different fiber surface modifications with
NaOH and concluded that the surface modifications
could remove surface impurities, increases surface
roughness and tensile strength.

Materials and Methods

The raw material selected for the present
experimental work is sisal fiber, hemp fiber as reinforced
components and accelerator (Cobalt naphthenate- speed
up the chemical reaction), catalyst (methyl ethyl ketone Figure 1: Fibers after chemical treatment
peroxide – speeds up the curing of the compound),
releasing agent (Cellophane, wax paper and PVA water Fabrication of Composite
soluble release agent) and styrene monomer (after The composites were produced with sisal and
removing the inhibitor) were used as matrix components. hemp fiber as a reinforcement and methyl ethyl ketone
The present experimental work consists of two phases peroxide (MEKP) as a catalyst and other chemicals
namely (mentioned above) as a matrix material. With the
1. Preparation of the composite material previous literature available it is concluded that the
2. Testing of the composite material. mechanical properties of the composites are mainly
Preparation of the composite material influenced by the fiber content in the composites. So the
In the present work the composites were produced using composite is prepared as per the dimensions proposed in
sisal and hemp fibers. The steps involved in this the literature in the following manner.
experiment is Preparing the glass mould for the fabrication of
Chemical Treatment composites
• Fibers are extracted from sisal & hemp plants by The test specimens were prepared with different sample
cutting the leaves stem that are close to the ground. composites for compression test, tensile test and flexural
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test .The glass mould of dimensions are 300 x 200 x 4 9) Then the materials are tested by using tensile test and
mm and a mould cavity of 120 x20 x 4 mm is made by flexural test by using universal testing machines
fixing 4 mm thick glass plates of width 15mm and
thickness 4mm on four sides of the plate using araldite.
The mould has to be solidified in normal temperature.
The post curing process will be done in furnace by
maintaining the temperature 70 0C.
He mould selected for the preparation of resin must be
cleaned and dried; otherwise it may cloud the resin. Then
apply the release wax and allow it to dry so that the
casting can be removed easily (Figure 2).

1) The mould selected for the preparation of resin must

be cleaned and dried; otherwise it may cloud the resin. Figure 3: Preparation of resin Post Curing
Then apply the release wax and allow it to dry so that the
casting can be removed easily (Figure 2)
2) 100 parts of unsaturated polyester resin was taken and
0.5 parts of accelerator and catalyst were added to the
mixture.
3) The fibers were cut into required size and weighed
accurately in each case. The sample plates prepared by
varying the weight of fibers.

Figure 4: Finished Composite

As per the previous literature available the

combination of 75% hemp and 25% sisal showed the
best results when tested with various combinations of
hemp and sisal. So in the present work test specimens are
prepared with 75% hemp and 25% sisal combination and
Figure 2: Preparation for mould pouring are tested. These are further tested with plain (normal)
plastics without any catalyst and accelerators etc.
4) First pour the polyester resin in to the jug and then stir
the resin with a stirrer. After few minutes catalyst of blue Testing of Composites
colour liquid is mixed in the resin so that we can get blue In the present experimental work the composite
colour to the composite. material is fabricated using hand moulding method. The
5) In order to dry the mixture accelerator is mixed to the test specimens are prepared with standards and were
resin so that we obtain the liquid and the same is poured tested to evaluate the mechanical properties like tensile
in to the mould. strength, compression strength and flexural strength.
6) Close the mould with a glass plate and put the weight A specimen of the prepared composite material
on the mould. Within the next six hours precuring will be is tested with compression testing machine for ultimate
done for the solidification of the resin. compression strength, universal testing machine for
7) Then post curing is done for 3 hours in the vacuum ultimate tensile strength and flexural strength. The test
furnace for the reduction of brittleness of the composite. specimens are held in the machines (as shown in the
This increases the bonding of matrix and reinforced figure 5) and the load is applied. The load at which the
materials (figure 3) composite material failure occurs is noted down for the
8) Figure 4 shows the finished composite material after further discussions.
removing it from the vacuum furnace

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[Reddy, 2(10): October, 2013] ISSN: 2277-9655
Impact Factor: 1.852

(a) Compression strength testing

Exhibit 1: Variation of compressive strength with the

weight of the fiber in composite
The plain plastic without any fiber is brittle and
will lose its mechanical properties within short time. The
compressive strength of the normal plastic is 6.68
(b) Tensile strength testing
N/mm2. The compressive strength of the hemp is
142.5%, 124.2% higher than normal plastic. Any way the
strength of the composite further increases with the
combination of hemp and sisal and is 153% higher than
that of normal plastic.
Tensile properties
The mechanical property of the composite relies on the
type of fiber and matrix used. This further depends on
the quantity of the fiber content. The tensile strength
variations of the composites are shown in the following
exhibit 2. Compared to the composites made with
untreated fibers, the
( c) Flexural strength testing
Figure 5: Composite Testing

Results and Discussions

Untreated fiber strengths
In the present experimental work the natural
fiber reinforced composites of hemp, sisal and the
combination of hemp and sisal (75% hemp + 25% sisal)
are developed and tested for the mechanical properties.
This is further compared with the normal plastic without
any resin, catalyst and accelerator etc.,The results are
presented below.
Compression strength
The compression strength of the composite
depends on the type of fiber used and increases with the Exhibit 2: Variation of Tensile strength with the weight of
amount of fiber. The variation of the compressive the fiber in composite
strength is illustrated in the exhibit 1.The composite The improvement in the tensile strength of composites
made of hemp is having more strength compared to the was 110% for hemp and 94.45% for the sisal fiber. This
sisal composite. strength of the fiber further increases with the
combination of hemp and sisal fiber. The strength is
128% higher than untreated fibers. This improvement is
because of surface modification which improves the
matrix adhesion property between the matrix and fibers.
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This could be due to the better dispersion of fibers and renewable and made available within the short period as
interaction between the matrix and fibers and reaction of compared with traditional glass and carbon fibers for
the catalysts and other agents with the fibers. Therefore making the advanced composites. Finally it is concluded
this indicates that the chemical treatment of the fibers that the natural fibers are low cost, recyclable, low
significantly increased the adhesion characteristics and density and eco-friendly material. Their mechanical
further mechanical properties. properties are very good and can be used to replace the
Flexural Properties conventional fiber such as glass, carbon in reinforced
The variation of flexural properties of the composites is plastic material. Further, chemical modification methods
shown in the exhibit 3. With the results it is concluded were adopted to improve the fiber –matrix interfacial
that the introduction of the fiber increases the flexural bonding and to enhance the mechanical properties. This
strength compared to the untreated fiber. Due to the surface treatment improved the compatibility of the fiber
chemical treatment of reinforced surface with catalyst and matrix and the effective stress transfer between the
and other agents the bonding strength between the fiber reinforced material and matrix. It is also clear that the
and matrix material is improved. However the bonding strength and stiffness of the natural fiber polymer
strength of the sisal fiber is less than hemp. The composites is strongly depends on the quantity of the
improvement in the bonding strength is higher with the fiber. This strength will increase up to certain amount of
combination of hemp and sisal fiber. This improvement fiber and further it will decrease. Up to the optimum
is 2.2% and 4.14% respectively compared with the sisal value of the fiber weight ratio, the load is uniformly
fiber. From the above fig. it is also observed that the distributed on all fibers which are well bonded with the
composites could transfer the stresses effectively from resin matrix material. Further increment of the fiber
the matrix to the fibers. The treatment of the fibers content may cause for uneven load distribution. With the
modified the surface energy and the tension of the fibers present work it is concluded that though the hemp is
and this further improves the molecular chain reactions. having higher tensile properties than sisal, this tensile
The effect of the chemical treatment on the composites strength can be further improved with the combination of
can be observed by comparing the results of the above hemp (75%) and sisal (25%).
composites which reveals that these composites are much
more stronger than untreated fibers. References
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