The Investigation of Mechanical Properties on Natural Fiber Composites for Recurve Bow Material Selection

摘要

Substitution of synthetic fiber composites with natural fiber in the applications such as automotive and construction are increasing. However, the usage of natural fibers in sports applications are still in its infancy stage. In this paper, the investigation of mechanical properties of the untreated and treated short kenaf fiber, pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) and mengkuang fiber reinforced epoxy composites were presented. These fibers were treated using sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The NaOH concentration were varied from 1%, 3% and 5%. The mixture of natural fibers reinforced composites were poured in to the glass mould and left to dry in a room temperature for 24 hours. The fibers were soaked in 1%, 3% and 5% NaOH concentration and was dried in aging oven. Results showed that tensile strength and flexural strength increase with increasing the NaOH cconcentration. It was concluded that kenaf fiber, PALF and mengkuang fiber have different optimum NaOH concentration