Incorporation of natural fibers into composites have been continuously researched in moving towards a greener environment. As environmental issues such as climate change and global warming is becoming severe, green technology is one of the ways to reduce it. Hevea brasiliensis or commonly called rubber tree produced a lot of sawdust during the conversion of the raw material into product. The sawdust is known as an agricultural waste which has no economic value. Therefore, this study for the first time attempts to utilize the Hevea brasiliensis sawdust by incorporating it with silicone rubber in the making of a new biocomposite material. The samples were prepared in two weight compositions, 0 wt% and 16 wt% in accordance to ASTM D412. Tensile properties of biocomposite was then determined using 3382 Universal Testing Machine 100kN (Instron, U.S.A., 2008). Neo Hookean hyperelastic model was employed where the material constant, C1 values were obtained. The graph plotted shows that the hyperelastic model used can mimic the deformation behavior of silicone biocomposites. The material constants are observed to increase as Hevea brasiliensis fiber are introduced into it. Hence, it can be concluded that pure silicone rubber has higher tensile strength compared to 16 wt% hevea brasiliensis – silicone biocomposite and the addition of fiber increase the stiffness properties of material produced.
Hevea brasiliensis wood becomes residue at plantations in Malaysia. In this study, these residues were reinforced into silicone rubber to produce a new soft biocomposite (Hevea brasiliensis-silicone biocomposite). The newly introduced soft biocomposite has potential for use in cushioning and sealing applications. The specimens were prepared with five different compositions (0 wt%, 4 wt%, 8 wt%, 12 wt%, and 16 wt% fiber content). Tensile tests were conducted according to ASTM D412 (2008) to assess the mechanical properties. Morphological characteristics were analyzed from the fractured surface of specimens. Stress-stretch data was used to quantify the non-linear tensile behavior, which was based on Neo-Hookean, Mooney-Rivlin, and Ogden hyperelastic constitutive equations. An increase in fiber content improved the modulus of silicone rubber. However, it reduced the flexibility and elastic properties of the silicone rubber biocomposite. The increasing material constant values supported these findings. The hyperelastic models accurately represented the behavior of the Hevea brasiliensis-silicone biocomposite. This study contributes knowledge towards a better understanding of the mechanical behavior of Hevea brasiliensis-silicone biocomposites.
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