Effects of layering variation on mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of areca natural fiber mat reinforced epoxy biocomposites

Abstract

Recent developments in reinforced plastics for a range of engineering applications have utilized natural fiber mat as a reinforcing material. The goal of the current work is to create a biocomposite material by adding a natural fiber mat with polymer. Areca fiber mats were combined with epoxy to fabricate five areca fiber mat-based biocomposites via the hand lay-up technique. These areca fiber mats were reinforced with epoxy in the number of mat layers or weight of fiber mat varying (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4). Tensile, flexural, and impact strengths of the manufactured areca fiber mat composite were investigated. We used SEM to conduct a morphological examination on specimens that had undergone tensile and flexural fracture. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) method was used to study the thermal strength of the novel areca fiber mat composites. We also conducted experiments on water absorption and biodegradability. The results indicated that the morphologies of the composites enhanced the mechanical characteristics by increasing the bonding between the epoxy and areca fiber mat. The three-layer areca fiber mat composite has better mechanical strength (tensile 41.8 MPa, flexural 192 MPa, and impact 2.9 J) and thermal qualities (highest thermal stability 17.9 %) than the other four composites. SEM scans also support the areca fiber mat composite.