Exploration of Mechanical Properties of Enset–Sisal Hybrid Polymer Composite

Abstract

Enset and sisal fibers are among the most widely used reinforcement to fabricate natural fiber-based composite materials. Hand lay-up techniques were employed in this study to fabricate enset–sisal (E/S) hybrid fiber composite with volume ratios of 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, and 0/100 and constant polyester resin. The tensile, flexural, impact strength, water absorption and morphological properties of the fabricated composite were investigated experimentally. The effects of hybridization to volume ratio were determined and the results show that hybrid composites excel in mechanical properties, compared with single composites. For better mechanical properties, the enset fiber has been hybridized with sisal fiber. Tensile and flexural strengths were enhanced by 47.3% and 41.03%, respectively, at 50/50 E/S volume ratio compared with 100/0 E/S composite. The impact strength of sisal fiber composite was improved by adding enset fiber in the composites. The inherent benefits and limitations of these two fibers were balanced out by each other in a positive way. While sisal fiber helped the composite intermesh of tensile, flexural, and reduction of water absorption, enset ensured impact strength. Morphological analysis was carried out in order to observe the fracture behavior and fiber pull-out of the samples by means of scanning electron microscopy.

Physico-Chemical Characterization of Alkali-Treated Ethiopian Arabica Coffee Husk Fiber for Composite Materials Production

“…The distilled water prepared it in room temperature in the university lab, which is 25 to 35 • C for this experiment and we measured the density of the distilled water; the density was 0.998 g/cm 3 , and the density of CH fibers was calculated as follows. Samples were measured at (25 ± −0.3) • C, using Mettler Teledo [25]. The Equation ( 1) formula provides the density of fibers.…”

“…Moisture content can affect the physical characteristics of composites, as well as the matrix-fiber interface [25]. To determine the wetness content of coffee husk fiber, weight 3 g of coffee husk was dried at (105 ± −2.0) • C for 24 h, according to ASTM D1762-84 (2007), until a relentless weight was measured.…”

“…To determine the wetness content of coffee husk fiber, weight 3 g of coffee husk was dried at (105 ± −2.0) • C for 24 h, according to ASTM D1762-84 (2007), until a relentless weight was measured. The moisture content was found on a share basis (TAPPI T 262 om-02) by the Equation ( 2) [25].…”

“…Its chemical composition influences fiber qualities, and fibers themselves can be thought of as fibrous composite materials. TAPPI standard T 264 method [25] was used to determine both NaOH treated and untreated coffee husk. Cellulose % was determined by Equation (6).…”

Study of Machinability in Drilling Operation of Enset–Sisal Hybrid Polyester Composite

“…[4]. The interfacial bond between natural fibers and polymer matrices affects the mechanical properties of fiber composites and nanofiber composites [5,6].…”