Effect of Fiber Content and Silane Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Roystonea Regia / Epoxy Composites

摘要

Present paper investigates the effect of fiber content and Silane treatment on tensile, flexural and impact properties of unidirectional roystonea regia natural fiber reinforced epoxy composites which are partially bio degradable. The main objective of the work is to develop natural fiber composites of balanced mechanical properties with the added advantage of cost reduction and eco friendliness. The reinforcement fiber was collected from the foliage of locally available roystonea regia (royal palm) tree. In older references the genus name of the tree was referred to as Oreodoxa. The poor adhesion between fiber and matrix is commonly encountered problem in natural fiber reinforced composites. To overcome this problem, specific physical and chemical treatments were suggested for surface modification of fibers by investigators. Silane treatment is one of the simple and effective fiber surface modification technique which is widely used in the fabrication of natural composites. In the present study both untreated and Silane treated fibers were used as reinforcement in roystonea regia epoxy composites and the tensile, flexural and impact properties were determined at different fiber contents. The Silane treatment found to be effective in improving the tensile and flexural properties while the impact strength decreased. With the increase in fiber content the mechanical properties were also increased.