Experimental Investigation of Date Palm Leaf Fiber Reinforced with Polymer Matrix Composite

The demand for composites incorporating robust fibers is significant across diverse industries, driven by the favorable attributes of strength, lightness, and cost-effectiveness. Within GCC countries, date palm (DP) serves as a valuable source of cellulosic fibers, highly esteemed for its widespread availability. These fibers can be sourced from midribs, spadix stems, leaflets, and mesh. Date palm leaf fibers are becoming more and more popular as a way to strengthen composite materials.In this paper, an experimental investigation of date palm leaf fiber reinforced with polymer matrix composites is conducted to analyze the mechanical properties of date palm fiber laminate composites. Fibers are first cleansed of dust, air dried, chopped, and then soaked in a NaOH alkaline solution. By hand lay-up technique, the date palm fiber laminates are prepared. The results from hardness testing and tensile testing on date palm -reinforced epoxy laminates show that the hardness values of date palm -reinforced epoxy laminates with weight ratios of 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt% ratios are 26.5, 30.3, 35.3, and 32.5 HV, respectively. Increasing the weight percentage of date palm fibers in the sample raised the hardness value. While the tensile strength values for laminates are 16.5, 17.2, 20.6, and 23.5 N/mm2, respectively.