ABSTRACT

This research is aimed to investigate the effect of different weight percent of kenaf and empty fruit bunch (EFB) hybrid compositions and fiber fractions (wt%) on the mechanical and thermal properties of unsaturated polyester (UPE)/epoxidized palm oil (EPO) composite. The kenaf and EFB fibers were first treated with an alkali solution before being pressed using a hydraulic hot-pressed machine. In this study, three different kenaf/EFB hybridization compositions were studied which are 100/0, 90/10, 70/30, and 50/50 (wt%) at three different fiber weight fractions (9%, 12%, and 15%) reinforced in UPE/EPO resin. The fiber treatment successfully removed the majority of the moisture, cellulose, and hemicellulose of kenaf and EFB fiber. The mechanical study revealed that the higher composition of EFB in kenaf/EFB hybrid fiber increased Young’s modulus, tensile strength, elongation at break, and impact strength of the resulted composite at 9 and 12 wt% fiber fractions. Thermal analysis proved that the hybridization fibers and higher fiber weight fractions improved the thermal stability by reducing the decomposition rate of the composites. Overall, kenaf/EFB hybridization reinforced in UPE/EPO resin is a good approach toward green composite development.

摘要

本研究旨在研究不同重量百分比的红麻和空果串 (EFB) 杂化组合物和纤维分数 (wt%) 对不饱和聚酯 (UPE)/环氧化棕榈油 (EPO) 复合材料的机械和热性能的影响。 . 在使用液压热压机压制之前，首先用碱溶液处理红麻和 EFB 纤维。在本研究中，研究了三种不同的红麻/EFB 杂交组合物，在三种不同的纤维重量分数（9%、12% 和 15 %) 在 UPE/EPO 树脂中增强。纤维处理成功地去除了洋麻和 EFB 纤维的大部分水分、纤维素和半纤维素。力学研究表明，红麻/EFB 混合纤维中 EFB 的较高组成增加了杨氏模量，得到的复合材料在 9 和 12 wt% 纤维分数下的拉伸强度、断裂伸长率和冲击强度。热分析证明，杂化纤维和较高的纤维重量分数通过降低复合材料的分解速率来提高热稳定性。总体而言，UPE/EPO 树脂中增强的红麻/EFB 杂化是一种绿色复合材料开发的好方法。