Tensile Properties of Untreated and Treated Long Kenaf Fiber/Polyester Composites

摘要

The interest in using fibers as reinforcement in composites has increased in recent years due to its lightweight, combustible, non-toxic, non-abrasive, low cost and biodegradable properties. In this study, two difference types of long kenaf fiber (LKF) used in fiber-reinforced composites which are untreated and treated with 1% sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The volume fraction of LKF used are 20%, 25% and 30% prepared by cold pressed hand lay-up technique were investigated. A series of tensile tests were performed to evaluate the effect of their modulus and ultimate tensile strength (UTS). The morphological and structural changes of the fibers were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has found that the treated long kenaf fiber (TLKF) shows the higher value of tensile strength compared to untreated long kenaf fiber (ULKF).