EFFECT OF ALKALI TREATMENT ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF JUTE,SISAL,BANANA,HEMP AND ABACA FIBERS FOR POLYMER COMPOSITE REINFORCEMENT

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1 International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET) Volume 8, Issue 7, July 2017, pp , Article ID: IJMET_08_07_196 Available online at ISSN Print: and ISSN Online: IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed EFFECT OF ALKALI TREATMENT ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF JUTE,SISAL,BANANA,HEMP AND ABACA FIBERS FOR POLYMER COMPOSITE REINFORCEMENT Jai InderPreet Singh Research Scholar, Punjab Technical University and working as Assistant Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, phagwara, India. Dr.VikasDhawan Director Principal, Chandigarh Group of Colleges, COE, Landran, Punjab, India. Dr.Sehijpal Singh Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, GNDEC, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Amrinder Singh Pannu (Research Scholar), Punjab Technical University and working as Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, GNDEC, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. Sarath.S (Research Scholar), School of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India. ABSTRACT Green composite is composed by natural fibers reinforced with polymer matrix material. Now a days, focus is shifted towards the green composite because of their positive potential towards environment. Global warming, environmental issues, depletion of petroleum resources, increase in the oil prices are the main factors which focus the researchers to develop the new material that are friendly to health and environment. The present research is an endeavour to develop the natural fiber reinforced partially biodegradable composite and study its mechanical properties. This study have five different types of natural fibers (jute, sisal, banana, hemp and abaca) have been used as reinforcement and epoxy as matrix material to develop the natural fiber reinforced polymer composite with the help of hand layup followed by compression molding technique. All types of treated and non-treated fiber composites have been prepared at constant 40% fiber volume fraction and different mechanical properties like tensile, flexural strength and impact strength have been investigated. It editor@iaeme.com

2 Effect of Alkali Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Jute, Sisal, Banana, Hemp and Abaca Fibers for Polymer Composite Reinforcement has been found that treated-jute fiber reinforced polymer composites has a maximum tensile strength of 431MPa and treated hemp fiber/epoxy based composites has a maximum flexural strength of 96 MPa. However impact strength has been tremendously decreased in all treated composites. The morphology study for all the composites were conducted and found that the interfacial bonding between matrix and fibers were improved in alkali treated composites. Key words: Natural Fiber; Polymer based Composite; Surface Treatment; Hand Layup, Compression Molding. Cite this Article: Jai InderPreet Singh, Dr.VikasDhawan, Dr.Sehijpal Singh, Amrinder Singh Pannu and Sarath.S Effect of Alkali Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Jute,Sisal,Banana,Hemp and Abaca Fibers for Polymer Composite Reinforcement. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 8(7), 2017, pp INTRODUCTION Global environmental concerns as rising average global temperature, rising sea levels, decrease in polar ice caps, rapidly depleting petroleum resources have put the pressure on human and industry. These are the reasons why green products are increasingly promoted for sustainable development. Sustainable development has become a major issue in now days and the depletion of oil-based resources will force the researchers to develop biopolymer materials from renewable resources [1]. Lot of research works are reported on natural fiber based bio composites in the area of improving the mechanical properties. Green composites are also classified as partially biodegradable green composite or fully biodegradable green composites. Partially green composites are the composites in which one of the constituents like reinforcement or matrix is synthetic and other constituents would be from natural resources. In fully biodegradable composites, both the constituents are from the natural resources like natural fibers as a reinforcement and natural polymer as a matrix. Many researchers had developed the partially biodegradable composites using different types of natural fibers with synthetic thermoplastics. In most of the studies, natural fibers have been incorporated in matrix material in the form of randomly oriented or short-fiber form with the help of extrusion and/or injection molding processes [2]. Vikas et.al [3] developed the epoxy and polyester based glass fiber reinforced polymer composite and studied the effect of natural fillers and found that the with addition of natural fillers, it gives better results in polyester-based composites. Coconut coir based composites shows the better mechanical properties as compared to the other reinforcement in glass/epoxy composites. Fomuena et.al [4] studied the characterization of green composites with bio based epoxy matrices and bio- fillers derived from seashell waste. It has been found that the addition of calcium carbonate from sea shell is an effective method to increase the mechanical properties of bio composites and to reduce the residue from the industrial production. Shih et.al [5] developed the epoxy based green composites from plant fiber and waste fibers like pineapple leaf fiber, banana fiber and recycled disposable chopstick fiber and chemical treated with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and investigated their mechanical properties. It has been found that by using 20% weight as reinforcement, tensile strength of reinforced epoxy composite could be increased from 80% to 117% as compared to the neat epoxy. Generally the surface modification enhances the mechanical properties of the fibers [6-10]. Nor et.al [11] studied the effect of fibers treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) on the thermal properties of PLA/kenaf green nano composite. It was found that the 1.0M treated fibers composites gives the better thermal editor@iaeme.com

3 Jai InderPreet Singh, Dr.VikasDhawan, Dr.Sehijpal Singh, Amrinder Singh Pannu and Sarath.S properties than the 0.5M and 1.5M treated fiber composites. Osorio et.al [12] had developed the novel process for the extractions of long bamboo fibers that are used as reinforcement for various structural applications. Unidirectional bamboo fiber/epoxy based composite were developed with alkali treated and non- treated fibers to evaluate the incorporation of new reinforcing material. It has been observed that the transverse strength increases at lower alkali concentration, but transverse flexural strength of untreated bamboo/ epoxy composite was around 33MPa. Gomes et.al [13] developed and studied the effect of alkali treatment on mechanical properties of curauafiber based green composite and found that alkali treated fiber composites increased in fracture strain twice times more than untreated fiber composites, without the considerable decrease in strength. Cho et.al [14] discussed the property improvement of natural fiber reinforced green composites by water treatment. He had developed the jute, kenaf and henequen reinforced thermoplastic polylactic acid and polypropylene matrix composites. Natural fibers were surface treated by static soaking and dynamic ultrasonication method. Results shows that improvement in mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced composites strongly depend on the treatment method. H. Bisaria[15] discussed the effect of fiber length on mechanical properties are found that tensile and flexural properties were found maximum for composites with 15 mm length of fiber. K.Kishore[16] had evaluated the flexural and water absorption properties of short kenaffiber composites and conclude that flexural strength was increased with fiber surface treatment. Present study aims to study the effect of surface treatment on mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced composites. In this study different types of natural fibers like (jute, sisal and banana, hemp and abaca) have been considered as reinforcement and epoxy as matrix material. 2. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES 2.1. Materials This study uses the different natural fibers as jute, sisal, banana, hemp and Abaca and AW106 epoxy and HV953 as hardener as a matrix material. Properties of matrix material are mentioned in the table 1. Table 1 Properties of epoxy resin used as matrix [17] Properties Values Density at 25 C g/cm3 Viscosity at 25 C Pas Specific gravity 1.15 ca 2.2. Fiber surface treatment In this study, First fibers were washed with the tap water to remove the dirt and unwanted particles and allow them to dry under direct sunlight for 2 days. After drying, all the fibers were treated with 5% w/v concentrated NaOH solution. 5% w/v concentration of NaOH solution was decided as per the literature [13]. Initially, 10 L water was heated at 40 C and 500gm of NaOH pallets were added in the water. Complete solution was stirred mechanically so that NaoH pallets completely dissolve. Natural fibers were then added into the solution and treated with heating the solution at 40 C. It was observed that with addition of natural fibers, temperature gets increased by 8-10 C because of exothermic reaction takes place. All fibers were kept for alkali treatment for editor@iaeme.com

4 Effect of Alkali Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Jute, Sisal, Banana, Hemp and Abaca Fibers for Polymer Composite Reinforcement 1 hour and then neutralise with the tap water. At the end alkali treated, fibers were kept for drying under sunlight and then stored in the air tight bag for further use Fabrication of composites The fibres were purchased from Chandra Prakash and company, Jaipur. Before taking into use, fibres were cleaned for removing dirt. Fibres were soaked in water for 2 days at room temperature for completely wetting of dirt and bark for easy removal. Then fibres were rinse with water times, removal of dirt and bark was seen. Fibres were allowed to get dry in sunlight for 3 days till it get completely dry. After drying, combing of fibres was done in order to remove broken fibres. Combing is done till straight and unidirectional crimp less fibres was obtained. A dried and clean strand is made and tied and stored in air tight polybags at dry place. In this study epoxy resin AW106 and HV953 hardener were mixed together with mechanically stirring with the ratio of 10:8 by weight. All the composites were prepared with the constant 40% fiber volume fraction which shows better results [3-6]. Fiber volume fraction was calculated using the following equation [13] mentioned below. Vf=1 (1) Where Vf is the fiber volume fraction, W is the weight of composite, Wf is the weight of fiber, Pm is the density of the matrix and V is the volume of composite. For the preparation of composites, initially fibers were cut longitudinally as per the size of the mould. Mold was specially designed to develop specimens for tensile (1mm) and flexural (4mm thick) laminates. Composite laminates were developed using hand layup technique and compression molding. Composites were prepared in the mold with dimensions as 320 mm x 120 mm at room temperature. First the layer of epoxy resin was pasted on the mold with the help of brush. Fibers were carefully placed over the resin. Then the epoxy resin was applied over the fibers with the help of spatula till all the fibers get wetted. The same procedure was repeated for rest of fibers. All fibers were placed uni-directionally in the mold. After that upper mold was placed on the lower mold and pressed it slightly to remove the extra resin out of it. Around 200 KG weight was placed on the mold and kept it for a complete day for curing at room temperature. Composite laminates were prepared as per the desired dimensions. Tensile specimens and flexural were cut from the sheet for further testing. Figure 1 shows the schematic of hand layup and compression molding method for fabrication of laminate composite editor@iaeme.com

5 Jai InderPreet Singh, Dr.VikasDhawan, Dr.Sehijpal Singh, Amrinder Singh Pannu and Sarath.S Figure 1 Schematic of hand layup and compression molding method for fabrication of laminate composite Different Natural fiber/epoxy based composites were prepared using the same method. Different reinforcements as Hemp and Abaca fibers were used. Figure IIa and IIb shows the non-treated and treated Hemp and Abaca reinforced epoxy based composites and Figure IIc and IId shows non-treated jute and sisal fiber reinforced epoxy composites. Figure 2a Non Treated Hemp and Abaca fiber composite Figure 2b Alkali Treated Hemp and Abaca fiber composite Figure 2c Non Treated jute fiber reinforced based composite Figure 2d Non Treated sisal fiber reinforced composite 3. MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS 3.1. Tensile strength The tensile test was conducted in accordance with the ASTM D3039 standard. The size of the test specimen was 250 mm x 15 mm x 1 mm. The test was conducted on universal testing machine. Specimens of required size were clamped between the grips in such a manner so that the force is applied along the longitudinal direction of the specimen editor@iaeme.com

6 Effect of Alkali Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Jute, Sisal, Banana, Hemp and Abaca Fibers for Polymer Composite Reinforcement 3.2. Flexural strength Three point bend test was performed as per the ASTM D standard. The test specimen was 154 mm x 13 mm x 4 mm. The test was performed on universal testing machine. Two parallel roller supports were used to support the specimen and load was given by means of loading nose midway between the supports Impact Strength Charpy impact strength specimens were prepared as per the ASTM standards. The test specimen of 63.5 mm x 15 mm x 4 mm was prepared and V notch was provided using the triangular file of 2mm. The specimen was clamped in the vice of the machine. When the release of a pendulum, Dial gauge gives the amount of energy absorbed by the material and the impact strength was calculated Morphological Analysis Morphological examination was carried out at the room temperature to study the fiber-matrix interface. In this study Figure III and IV shows the cross sectional view of fiber-matrix interface of non- treated and treated fiber composites at 40x magnification. It clearly indicates that bonding between the matrix and fibers improved with the removal of lignin layer from the fibers surface after the surface treatment. Figure 3 Cross sectional view of interfacial bonding between matrix and non treated sisal,jute,banana and hemp fibers based composites editor@iaeme.com

7 Jai InderPreet Singh, Dr.VikasDhawan, Dr.Sehijpal Singh, Amrinder Singh Pannu and Sarath.S Figure 4 Cross sectional view of interfacial bonding between matrix and treated sisal,jute,banana and hemp fibers based composites. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Five different types of natural fibers sisal, jute, banana, hemp and abaca were used as reinforcement and epoxy resin as matrix material. Different Mechanical characterization test were conducted and results were tabulated in table 2 mentioned below. Table 2 Summary of experimental findings Types of Tensile Strength Tensile strength Flexural Strength Flexural strength Impact Impact Fibers Non treated fiber Treated fiber Non treated fiber Treated Fiber strength strength (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) NT fiber T fiber (KJ/m 2 ) (KJ/m 2 ) Sisal Jute Banana Hemp Abaca editor@iaeme.com

8 Effect of Alkali Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Jute, Sisal, Banana, Hemp and Abaca Fibers for Polymer Composite Reinforcement 4.1. Tensile strength It was observed that the tensile strength of non-treated jute fiber epoxy based composites showed better results as compared to rest all non-treated based composites. As per the technical data sheet of epoxy resin, tensile strength of epoxy was MPa. It clearly shows, with the reinforcement of natural fibers, tensile strength increases. It has also been observed that the tensile and flexural strenghts were improved after the surface modifications of natural fibers. Among all the non-treated and treated composites, jute fiber reinforced epoxy based composites shows the highest tensile strength of 177 MPa and 431 MPa respectively. With 5% NaOH treatment the lignin, cellulose layer around the fibers was removed which increases the fiber wettability and thus increases the overall surface area of interaction between fiber and resin and results in increase in bonding strength and tensile strength. Fig V shows the comparison of tensile strength of all non-treated and treated fiber composites Flexural strength 3 Point bend test was performed as per the ASTM standard D It was found that non treated and treated hemp fiber/epoxy based composites shows the higher flexural strength as compared to rest all non-treated and treated fiber/epoxy based composites. Maximum of 96 MPa of flexural strength has been recorded in treated hemp fiber composites. Figure VI shows the comparisons of flexural strength of all treated and non-treated natural fibers based epoxy composites. Figure 5 Tensile strength of all types of composites Figure 6 Flexural strength of all types of composite 4.3. Impact Strength Charpy impact test was conducted on the impact testing machine and observed that the impact strength of non-treated hemp fiber/epoxy based composites shows better strength as compared to rest all treated and non-treated natural fiber/epoxy based composites. Fig VII shows the comparison of impact strength of all treated and non-treated natural fibers reinforced based epoxy composites editor@iaeme.com

9 Jai InderPreet Singh, Dr.VikasDhawan, Dr.Sehijpal Singh, Amrinder Singh Pannu and Sarath.S Figure 7 Impact strength of all composite 5. CONCLUSIONS In present research, five different types of natural fibers has chosen as reinforcement and epoxy as matrix material. Various mechanical characterization tests were conducted on all treated and non-treated natural fibers based epoxy composites. The aim of the research is to study the effect of surface modifications on the mechanical properties of polymer composites. Following are the observations drawn from this study as 1. With incorporation of natural fibers, tensile properties of the composites have improved 2. Significant increase in the tensile and flexural strength of all the composites with alkali treatment 3. Treated Jute fiber based composites shows maximum tensile strength of 431 MPa as compared to all other natural fiber based composites. 4. Treated hemp fiber based composites shows maximum of 96 MPa as compared to all other natural fiber based composites. 5. Impact strength has decreased with 5% alkali treatment for all the types of natural fibers based composites. 5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I feel thankful to school of Mechanical Engineering and School of Civil Engineering, Lovely Professional University for giving the support to use the infrastructure for the complete research. REFERENCES [1] Thakur, V.K., Singha, A.S. and Thakur, M.K. (2011) Green Composites from Natural Cellulosic Fibers. Germany: GmbH & Co. KG. [2] P. K. Bajpai, I. Singh, and J. Madaan. (2012) Comparative studies of mechanical and morphological properties of polylactic acid and polypropylene based natural fiber editor@iaeme.com

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