EFFECTS OF STACKING SEQUENCE AND MERCERIZATION TREATMENT ON MECHANICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF HEMP AND RAMIE-REINFORCED HYBRID LAMINATED COMPOSITES
Abstract
Natural fibers are available in low cost, easily renewable and they are rich in cellulose. As the natural fibers possess impurities over the surface, poor wettability and interfacial bonding are the main drawbacks encountered during fabrication process. In the current research work, hemp (H) and Ramie (R) fibers were treated with different sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentrations (2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%) for 5 hr at room temperature. The effects of stacking sequence (HHRRHH, HRHRHR and RRHHRR) and surface modification on physical and mechanical properties of hemp and ramie fiber-reinforced epoxy composites were investigated with a 30 wt.% of fiber loading. The attributes such as water absorption, density, tensile properties, flexural properties, impact energy, hardness were examined. From the experimental results, the 6% NaOH-treated composites compared with untreated fiber composites disclosed an increase of 13.69% for tensile strength, 17.27% for flexural strength, 14.29% for impact energy and 16.67% for hardness with stacking sequence of RRHHRR. The surface morphology of the untreated, treated reinforcements, and fracture surface of the tensile-tested hybrid composite samples were examined by scanning electronic microscope.
Keywords Mercerization treatment; hybrid composite; mechanical properties; stacking sequence; natural fibers
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