Nowadays, continuous natural fibre reinforced polymer nanocomposites have attracted substantial attention among researchers due to various benefits possesses by the natural fibres. Kenaf fibre has become one of the high potential candidates to replace synthetic fibres in polymer composite. Kenaf fibre exhibits good strength and modulus properties, low density, non-abrasive during processing and biodegradable. This study is aimed to evaluate the effect of nanosilica on longitudinal and transverse tensile properties of unidirectional (UD) kenaf composite. The UD kenaf composite samples were prepared based on three different nanosilica content; i.e. 5, 13 and 25 wt.%. The samples were prepared using filament winding and vacuum bagging techniques. The 0o and 90o tensile tests were conducted in accordance to ASTM standard D3039 in order to obtain longitudinal and transverse tensile properties of unmodified and nanosilica-modified kenaf composites. The fracture surfaces of the specimens were observed using scanning electron microscope in order to identify fracture mechanisms involved during tension. The results showed that the addition of nanosilica reduced longitudinal tensile Young’s modulus, strength and failure strain of the kenaf composite. SEM micrographs revealed incomplete resin wetting and fibre pull-out mechanism at high nanosilica content that contributed to premature failure of the kenaf composites. However, it was found that the addition of nanosilica improved transverse tensile properties of kenaf composites since these properties were mostly governed by the properties of the matrix. A stiffer matrix improved the transverse tensile modulus and strength of kenaf composites.
A homogeneous dispersion of nanofillers in epoxy polymer still remains as one of the biggest challenges in advanced nanocomposites research. In this paper, the effects of nanoclay content (1wt%, 3wt%, 5wt%) and nanosilica content (5wt%, 13wt%, 25wt%) on tensile and compressive properties of epoxy polymer were studied. The nanoclay and nanosilica were dispersed in epoxy using the three-roll milling and mechanical stirrer machine, respectively. The compressive and tensile properties were evaluated using Instron universal tester machine according to BS standards. The Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was used to evaluate the degree of dispersion of nanofillers in epoxy. The results showed that the intercalated structure of clay/epoxy nanocomposites gave detrimental effect on the tensile and compressive strength of the polymer. Whereas, the results of nanosilica/epoxy nanocomposite system showed that a well-dispersed nanosilica contributes to the improvement of tensile and compressive strength and Young’s modulus of the polymer.
Nanocomposite has been one of recent study interest among researcher, scientists, and students. With public consciousness about environment, there is a change in using environmental friendly’s materials. With the incorporation of nanotechnology, the strength of the composite shouldn’t be sacrificed because of the use of natural fibre. Kenaf has been studied extensively and has been one of the candidates to be used in composite and with hybridizing with glass fibre, The strength of the composite could be retained to be used widely. In this study, nanosilica was impregnated in hybrid kenaf and glass epoxy composite to and was tested for its longitudinal and transverse tensile properties. From this study, incorporation of nanosilica in hybrid kenaf and glass epoxy composite help to increase its tensile modulus up to 34.52%, and longitudinal tensile strength up to 13.64%.
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