Indian Journal of Science and Technology
DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2015/v8i11/71768
Year: 2015, Volume: 8, Issue: 11, Pages:
Original Article
Ramadevi Punyamurthy1 , Dhanalakshmi Sampathkumar1 , Basavaraju Bennehalli 2* , Raghu Patel G. Rangana Gouda2 and Chikkol V. Srinivasa3
1 Department of Chemistry, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad - 500085, Telangana, India; ramaanilkumar1970@gmail.com
2 Department of Chemistry, Alva’s Institute of Engineering and Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Mijar - 574225, Karnataka, India; basavaraju_b@yahoo.co.in
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, GM Institute of Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Davangere - 577006, Karnataka, India; srinikanadamani@gmail.com
The focal point of this research work is on the preparation of untreated and chemically treated abaca reinforced epoxy composites and the impact of these pre-treatments on tensile and flexural behavior of the composites. Alkali treatment, acrylation, permanganate treatment and benzenediazonium chloride treatments were carried out on abaca strands. Unprocessed and chemically processed fibers were used in the fabrication of epoxy composites with different fiber loadings of 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% using compression moulding technique. Tensile tests and flexural tests were performed using ASTM D638 [Type III] and ASTM D790 standards respectively. From these studies it can be concluded that chemical treatments are very effective in modifying the fiber surface, reducing the hydrophilic nature of fiber, improving fiber matrix adhesion there by increasing the mechanical performance of composites. Untreated Composites with 40% fiber loading and 10 mm fiber length showed maximum tensile strength of 36.48 MPa. For untreated as well as for all chemically treated abaca-epoxy composites, as the fiber loading surged from 10% to 40% , increment in tensile strength values were observed and beyond 40% it showed a decline. Benzenediazonium chloride treated fiber composites of 40% fiber loading showed maximum tensile strength of 58.62 MPa, followed by acrylic acid treatment, permanganate treatment and alkali treatment with tensile strength values of 50.28, 48.84, and 43.78 MPa respectively. Flexural strength also showed same trend as that of tensile strength. Benzenediazonium chloride treated fiber composites of 40% fiber loading showed maximum flexural strength of 67.86 MPa, followed by acrylic acid treatment, permanganate treatment and alkali treatment with flexural strength values of 60.24, 58.56, and 56.46 MPa respectively. Most of the studies were carried out for alkali treated composites but this study focused on acrylation, permanganate and benzenediazonium chloride treatments. These treatments enhanced tensile strength and flexural strength.
Keywords: Abaca Fibers, Chemical Treatments, Epoxy Resin, Fiber Loading, Mechanical Properties
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