The present investigation focuses on the fabrication and mechanical characterization of alkali treated natural abaca fiber reinforced urea formaldehyde composites. The composites were prepared by means of compression moulding, and then the effects of fiber loading on mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength were investigated. The composite with 40 wt% abaca fibers gave excellent tensile strength and flexural strength showing that it has the most superior bonding and adhesion of all the composites. In particular, the highest value, 10.02 kJ/m2 of charpy impact strength is observed in the composite with 50 wt% abaca fiber. This work revealed the potential of using abaca fibers in fiberboard.
Abaca fibers were subjected to different chemical treatments like alkali treatment, permanganate treatment, acrylation & benzene diazonium chloride treatment and these chemically treated fibers were used as reinforcements in the preparation of polypropylene composites by hot compression moulding method. Various composites were fabricated with different fiber loadings of 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 70%. Abaca composites with 40% fiber loadings were found to have optimum properties when tensile tests were carried out and the study also revealed that treated composites were found to have improved tensile properties when compared to untreated composites. Among all the treatments carried out benzene diazonium chloride treated abaca fiber reinforced polypropylene composites showed higher tensile strength. These composites showed 82.38% increase in tensile strength when compared to untreated composites for 40% fiber loading.
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