Tucum Fiber from Amazon Astrocaryum vulgare Palm Tree: Novel Reinforcement for Polymer Composites

Abstract

The replacement of synthetic fibers by natural fibers has, in recent decades, been the subject of intense research, particularly as reinforcement of composites. In this work, the lesser known tucum fiber, extracted from the leaves of the Amazon Astrocaryum vulgare palm tree, is investigated as a possible novel reinforcement of epoxy composites. The tucum fiber was characterized by pullout test for interfacial adhesion with epoxy matrix. The fiber presented a critical length of 6.30 mm, with interfacial shear strength of 2.73 MPa. Composites prepared with different volume fractions of 20 and 40% tucum fiber were characterized by tensile and Izod impact tests, as well as by ballistic impact energy absorption using .22 ammunition. A cost analysis compared the tucum fiber epoxy composites with other natural and synthetic fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The results showed that 40 vol% tucum fiber epoxy composites increased the tensile strength by 104% and the absorbed Izod impact energy by 157% in comparison to the plain epoxy, while the ballistic performance of the 20 vol% tucum fiber composites increased 150%. These results confirmed for the first time a reinforcement effect of the tucum fiber to polymer composites. Moreover, these composites exhibit superior cost effectiveness, taking into account a comparison made with others epoxy polymer composites.

Energy Absorption and Limit Velocity of Epoxy Composites Incorporated with Fique Fabric as Ballistic Armor—A Brief Report

“…Table 2 presents the main results from the stand-alone ballistic tests, including the determined impact, , and residual, , velocities, as well as the absorbed energy, , calculated from Equation (1) [ 9 ], and the limit velocity, , from Equation (2) [ 23 ]. In this table, not only are the results for the fique fabric reinforced epoxy composites reported, but previous results of the plain epoxy and the Kevlar TM stand-alone plates with the same 10 mm thickness [ 11 , 24 ] are also shown.…”

“…The absorbed ballistic impact energy ( ) of the stand-alone target plate schematically illustrated in Figure 2 is given by [ 9 ]: where m p is the mass, and are the impact and residual velocities, respectively. The values of and were calculated for each shot using the program WinDopp ® , Weibel.…”

“…The absorbed ballistic impact energy (E abs ) of the stand-alone target plate schematically illustrated in Figure 2 is given by [9]:…”

“…Past decades witnessed a surge in research on the possible substitution of polymer composites reinforced with natural fiber/fabric for synthetic laminates [4][5][6][7]. In addition to sustainable issues, natural fiber/fabric composites possess a comparable capacity to dissipate the ballistic energy with cost-effective advantages [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. The ballistic tests in all of these previous studies, as well as in the present investigation, were conducted according to the NIJ standards [16].…”

Influence of Rigid Brazilian Natural Fiber Arrangements in Polymer Composites: Energy Absorption and Ballistic Efficiency

“…Interfacial separation, brittleness of the matrix, and rupture of fibers as well as pullout of fibers, Figure 8a-c, were observed in all composites designed for this investigation. Opposite behavior is observable when the volume fraction of fiber reinforcement is varied [33][34][35]. A higher amount of reinforcement ultimately leads to a higher efficiency in energy absorption.…”