The developments of agricultural-based composites for structural applications such as in construction, aerospace, and automotive have gained tremendous interest from researchers due to the uniqueness of its behaviors. Among available agricultural fibers, kenaf fiber widely adopted as a reinforcement in polymer composites to form kenaf reinforced polymer matrix composites. The hybridization technique was introduced to enhance the mechanical performances of composite materials wherein two different types of reinforcements were employed to form a hybrid composite. Therefore, in this review paper, the investigations focus on the mechanical properties of kenaf hybrid composites as well as potentials and barriers of agricultural-based composites were discussed to provide a literature source for future research regarding this topic.
The potential of natural fibers as one of the candidate materials in the production of fiber-reinforced polymer composites have been widely investigated. In the current study, natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite was fabricated by employing woven kenaf fiber as a reinforcing agent with epoxy resin that acts as a matrix constituent. This composite sample was fabricated using the application of the vacuum infusion method in which the content of kenaf fibers was varied from 30 vol.%, 40 vol.%, and 50 vol.%. The effects of different fiber loadings toward mechanical and physical properties as well as failure properties of kenaf composite were then evaluated. Kenaf composites were subjected to mechanical tests including tensile and flexural tests. The result shows that the highest tensile strength and modulus were attained at 76.67 MPa and 2.31 GPa, respectively with kenaf composite fabricated with 40 vol.% fiber content. Meanwhile, the highest flexural strength and modulus were recorded at 61.24 MPa and 4.20 GPa, also corresponding to kenaf composite that is loaded with 40 vol.% fibers. Fiber pull-out failure was able to be detected in fabricated kenaf composites. Meanwhile, fiber breakage resulting from flexural failure could also be observed in the kenaf composite samples. Apart from that, it was found that as more kenaf fiber was loaded in the composites, the rate of water absorption tended to increase where the highest rate of water absorption was found at 43.33%, displayed by kenaf composite with 50 vol.% of fiber content. ABSTRAK: Potensi gentian semula jadi sebagai salah satu bahan dalam penghasilan komposit polimer bertetulang gentian telah banyak dikaji. Dalam kajian terkini, komposit polimer yang diperkuat dengan gentian semula jadi dibuat dengan menggunakan serat kenaf tenunan sebagai agen penguat dan resin epoksi yang bertindak sebagai matriks. Sampel komposit ini dibuat menggunakan kaedah infusi vakum di mana kandungan serat kenaf digunakan adalah 30 vol.%, 40 vol.%, dan 50 vol.%. Kesan kandungan serat yang berbeza terhadap sifat mekanikal dan fizikal serta sifat kegagalan komposit kenaf kemudiannya dinilai. Komposit Kenaf diuji dengan ujian tegangan dan lenturan. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahawa kekuatan tegangan dan modulus tertinggi dicapai pada 76.67 MPa dan 2.31 GPa, milik komposit kenaf yang dibuat dengan kandungan serat 40 vol.%. Sementara itu, kekuatan dan modulus lenturan tertinggi dicatatkan pada 61.24 MPa dan 4.20 GPa juga milik komposit kenaf yang dimuatkan dengan serat 40% vol. Kegagalan serat terkeluar dapat dikesan pada komposit kenaf buatan. Sementara itu, kerosakan serat akibat kegagalan lenturan juga dapat dilihat pada sampel komposit kenaf. Selain itu, didapati bahawa semakin banyak serat kenaf yang dimuatkan dalam komposit, cendurung meningkatkan kadar penyerapan air di mana kadar penyerapan air tertinggi didapati pada 43.33% yang ditunjukkan oleh komposit kenaf dengan kandungan serat 50% vol.
The growth of polymer-based composites from either synthetic or natural fibres, especially carbon and kenaf fibres as reinforcement, has gained major interest in many pieces of research. However, only a little attention has been made that compared the mechanical performances of these developed composites based on previous studies. In fact, this comparative study is essential to identify the mechanical gaps between synthetic and natural fibres. Thus, the current work is aiming to provide a comparative study on mechanical properties of manufactured composite materials from both synthetic and natural fibres in which carbon and kenaf fibres were used as reinforcing agents, whereas epoxy resin acts as a matrix phase that fabricated via vacuum infusion method. The thickness and fibre loadings of fabricated composite materials were fixed at 3 mm and 40 vol. %, respectively. The investigations focused on the mechanical performances of carbon and kenaf composites under tensile and flexural tests. The result shows that tensile and flexural strengths for carbon composite were attained at 399.05 MPa and 362.29 MPa, respectively. Meanwhile, for kenaf composite, the tensile strength was gained at 77.28 MPa, whereas, the flexural strength was obtained at 61.24 MPa.
Hybrid composites from combinations of synthetic and natural fibers have experienced a considerable interest among researchers due to its excellent characteristics. One of the drivers for this development owing to the ability of synthetic and natural fibers to compensate for the limitation of one another. Thus, the current effort works on the fabrication of hybrid composites from combinations of carbon fiber (C) and kenaf fiber (K) with epoxy resin using the vacuum infusion method. The stacking sequences of fibers were varied to KKKKK, CKCKC, KCKCK, and CCKCC. The effects of hybridization and stacking sequences on mechanical properties of fabricated hybrid composites were examined under tensile and flexural tests. The result shows that the tensile and flexural properties of manufactured hybrid composites were enhanced by introducing hybridization with carbon fiber. The highest tensile were obtained in the CKCKC hybrid sample, whereas, the highest flexural properties were observed in the CCKCC hybrid sample. Besides, tensile fractured and flexural modes of failures were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscope (OM), respectively.
In the current project, Kenaf fiber (K) and carbon fiber (C) with epoxy resin were utilized to form carbon-kenaf hybrid composites using a vacuum infusion technique. The volume fraction of fiber and thickness of a hybrid composite was fixed at 40 vol.% and 3mm, respectively. Four different sequences were introduced in the current project including CCCCC, KKKKK, KCKCK, and CKCKC. Mechanical testing such as tensile and flexural tests were performed according to ASTM D3039 and ASTM D790, respectively. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Optical Microscope (OM) were used to identify modes of failures in both tensile and flexural tests of carbon/kenaf hybrid composites. The hybrid CKCKC sample displayed a higher value in tensile strength (264.23 MPa), tensile modulus (11.06 GPa), flexural strength (438.51 MPa) and flexural modulus (25.13 GPa) as compared than KCKCK hybrid sample.
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