Studies on mechanical and machining behaviors of agro residues reinforced polymer composites

Abstract

This research aims to study the fiber characterization and mechanical behaviour of paddy straw fiber-reinforced polyester composites and the improvement of their mechanical properties by alkali treatment and hybridization of pineapple leaf fiber. Composites were prepared with randomly oriented and weight percentage of fiber. The mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, impact, hardness, and shear strength) of hybrid fiber-reinforced polyester composites were determined under different conditions. newlineand#61623; Untreated fiber-reinforced composites newlineand#61623; Alkali treated fiber reinforced composites newlineand#61623; Hybridized Pine apple leaf fiber reinforced composites newlineInitially, the paddy straw fiber was collected from an agricultural field and the PALF fiber through the fiber extraction process and their physical, chemical, and mechanical properties as well as those of the matrix material were studied. The randomly oriented paddy straw fiber reinforced polyester composites were prepared with the matrix and reinforcement content of three levels ranging from 70:30, 60:40, 50:50 weight %, and fiber length ranging from 25 mm to 75mm. The effects of the untreated randomly oriented mechanical properties of the composites were determined. The weight % of fiber content required to get the best combination of strength properties was also identified. In continuation, alkali-treated fiber mechanical properties were also tested. newline