ABSTRACT

In the present research work, chemically modified Urena lobata (UL) fibers have been reinforced in epoxy resin matrix for fabrication of natural fiber polymer composite. The extracted fibers have been chemically modified with different concentration of NaOH (i.e. 4%, 5%, 6%, and 7%) and characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). From the tensile test results it has been found that 6% NaOH treated fiber gives maximum tensile strength. Composites have been fabricated using various weight percentages of treated fibers as reinforcement in epoxy resin and their mechanical and thermal properties have been evaluated. From the results it has been observed that 20 wt% of fiber loading gives optimum properties.

摘要

在目前的研究工作中，化学改性的Urena lobata (UL) 纤维已在环氧树脂基体中得到增强，用于制造天然纤维聚合物复合材料。提取的纤维已用不同浓度的 NaOH（即 4%、5%、6% 和 7%）进行化学改性，并通过扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 和红外光谱 (FTIR) 进行了表征。从拉伸试验结果发现，6% NaOH 处理的纤维具有最大的拉伸强度。已经使用不同重量百分比的处理过的纤维作为环氧树脂中的增强材料制造了复合材料，并且已经评估了它们的机械和热性能。从结果中可以看出，20 wt% 的纤维负载可提供最佳性能。