Characterization of Mechanical Properties of Short Kenaf Fiber-HDPE Green Composites

Use of natural fibers in polymer composites is the modern trend towards development of materials possessing several benefits such as low cost, environment friendly, biodegradable and high specific mechanical performance. Natural fiber polymer composites are used in various applications like automobile interior body, beams and panels, aircraft interiors as flooring, ceilings, galley walls, lavatories and cargo-hold liners etc. In this work the composites were prepared by two roll mixing mill followed by compression moulding. The effect of fiber loading (10, 20, 30 Wt. %) on tensile and flexural properties were tested for with and without alkali treated test samples. The 10 wt. % of kenaf fiber shows maximum tensile properties and flexural properties were found maximum for the composite with 30 wt. % of kenaf fiber. Further, detailed DMA (Dynamic mechanical analysis) were carried out in order to observe the reinforcing behavior of kenaf fibers. The value of damping (Tan delta) shows better fiber/matrix interface bonding for treated kenaf fiber composite due to alkali treatment. In future this material can be used for potential secondary load bearing structures in the automotive sector. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.