Mechanical Properties of Kenaf–Thermoplastic Natural Rubber Composites

Abstract

Kenaf -thermoplastic natural rubber (Kenaf-TPNR) composites were developed and evaluated in this study. The kenaf was blended with TPNR and maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAPP) as a compatibilizer in an internal mixer (Brabender). The mechanical properties of the composites were investigated by tensile, impact, flexural, and morphologic properties by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The incorporation of the kenaf fiber into the TPNR matrix resulted in an improvement in the tensile strength and Young's modulus. However, the maximum strain and impact strength decreased with increased filler loading. The better performance was attributed to the addition of MAPP due to improvements in the wetting of the filler surface. The addition of MAPP produced composites with improved tensile strength, Young's modulus, and flexural stiffness. SEM was employed to investigate the fiber surface, fiber pullout, and fiber -matrix interaction of composites.

Mechanical properties and dynamic mechanical analysis of thermoplastic‐natural‐rubber‐reinforced short carbon fiber and kenaf fiber hybrid composites

“…This was expected, as reported by previous researchers. 9,11,14 This shows that MAPP had improved fiber and matrix interaction by the formation of chemical linkages and prevented the frictional force involved in fiber pullout. For the untreated carbon composite, a significant improvement in the impact strength from 5 to 30% by almost 427% was observed, as exhibited in Table II.…”

“…The increment in flexural properties with increasing fiber content was expected and has been observed by other researchers. [9][10][11][12][13][14] This was attributed to the presence of MAPP, which promoted the interaction between TPNR and OH 2 in KF. Good interaction, which led to better stress transfer, enhanced the properties obtained.…”

Development of Green Insulation Boards from Kenaf Fibres and Polyurethane

“…The mechanical and environmental friendly properties of these natural fibres have led researchers to fabricate many composite materials containing Kenaf as reinforcing fibres. These composites exhibit impressive mechanical, chemical, and physical properties and are also economically attractive [11][12][13][14][15][16] . Kenaf was originally considered to be a promising material for fabricating a high-grade printing and writing paper [17][18][19] .…”

The Effect of Bis-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl) Tetrasulphide (Si-69) as a Coupling Agent on Properties of Natural Rubber/Kenaf Fibre Composites

“…Kenaf fiber has the good properties such as high toughness, specific strength properties and enhanced energy recovery. The advantages of kenaf fiber that assist on its rapid growing in research field are renewability, recyclability and biodegradability [1][2][3][4][5] .…”