An experimental investigation of flame retardancy and thermal stability of treated and untreated kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites

Natural fiber reinforced polymeric composites perform poor in mechanical and thermal properties at elevated temperatures due to the cellulose and hemicellulose contents of natural fiber start degrading at elevated temperature. In this research work, flame retardancy and thermal stability of treated and untreated kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites have been experimentally investigated and reported. Two composite laminates, one with 6 % NaOH Alkali treated and another with untreated woven kenaf mats, were fabricated by hand lay-up technique followed by compression molding with 40 % fiber weight fractions. Flame retardancy test and various thermal characteristics studies such as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), heat deflection temperature (HDT), and morphological analysis via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were carried out. The results showed that alkali treated kenaf fiber composite achieved V-0 fire retardancy grade. The major weight losses, 86 % and 75.5 % for untreated and treated composites respectively were recorded between 300 degrees C and 450 degrees C. 13.6 % increase in HDT was noted for treated composite with 0.25 mm deflection at 0.45 MPa pressure condition. Thus the composite laminate with 6 % NaOH alkali-treated kenaf fiber achieved the best thermal stability with less degradation which is more suitable for automobile and aerospace applications.