Mechanical Behaviour of Areca Nut, Sunn Hemp Natural Fibers and E-Glass Fibers Reinforced With Epoxy Composites
T. Narendiranath Babu1, Tanay Kuclourya2, Mohit Kumar Jain3, R.V. Mangalaraja4
1T. Narendiranath Babu, Associate Professor at Design and Automation department in the School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT, Vellore.
2Tanay Kuclourya, B.Tech. student in the School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT Vellore.
3Mohit Kumar Jain, B.Tech. student in the School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT Vellore.
4R.V. Mangalaraja, Professor and Director at Advanced Ceramics and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Materials Engineering, University of Concepcion, Chile.
Manuscript received on July 20, 2019. | Revised Manuscript received on August 10, 2019. | Manuscript published on August 30, 2019. | PP: 1092-1101 | Volume-8 Issue-6, August 2019. | Retrieval Number: F8322088619/2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.F8322.088619
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: In this paper, tensile behaviour of the natural fiber composites such as the areca nut composites and the sunn hemp composites were determined. The fibers were arranged in different orientations such as the uniaxial, biaxial and the criss-cross arrangements. For both the types of fiber composites, specimens were made with and without the incorporation of E-glass fibers. Comparisons were done on the basis of fiber orientation, E-glass fibers incorporation and the type of natural fiber used. Initially, the fibers were treated with alkali, i.e. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in order to get better bonding at the fiber-matrix interface. The conventional hand lay-up technique followed by the soft compression molding technique was carried out for fabricating the composite specimens. It was inferred from the results that the tensile strength was more for uniaxial arrangement and the least for biaxial arrangement in case of both the fibers. Further, for both the fibers, E-glass fiber incorporation increased the tensile strength as compared to the non-incorporated E-glass fiber composites. Also, sunn hemp composites showed better tensile strength than areca nut composites. The research suggested that the areca nut and sunn hemp composites were assets to many potential applications that did not require very high load bearing capabilities. These examined composites can be considered as very reliable materials for fabrication of lightweight materials used in automobile industry, packaging materials, medical field, etc.
Keywords: Areca Nut ; Sunn Hemp ; Composite; Uniaxial; Biaxial; Criss-cross; Specimen; E-glass Fiber; Alkali; Matrix; Hand Lay-up Technique; Compression Molding Technique; Tensile Strength.