Thermal kinetics of ber-phenol formaldehyde composite

Abstract

Natural fibers are used as reinforced in composites materials to save the environment for a long time. In this paper, the main discussion is on the thermal kinetics of Ber-PF composites. Ber with the botanical name ‘ZiziphusNummularia’ is the plant that is found in the arid region of western Rajasthan and other desert areas of the world. Fibers were extracted from this plant and these were used as reinforcement in phenol-formaldehyde resin. The sample of weight ratio of fibers-0.1 was prepared for thermal analysis. DSC experiments were performed on the sample with different heating rates – 10°C/min.15°C/min & 20°C/min. The values of the glass transition temperature, crystallization temperature, and heat of crystallization were calculated by analyzing DSC curves. The glass transition temperature varies between 61°C to 68°C, crystallization temperature varies between 160 ° C-170 ° C. The heats of crystallization vary from 515 mJ to 711mJ. Then the activation energy of the glass transition and crystallization process is calculated using Kissinger Model. The activation energy for glass transition is obtained roughly between 72kJ/mol - 185kJ/mol. The crystallization activation energy varies from 56kJ/mol-90kJ/mol. This study shows that reinforcing fiber with Phenol Formaldehyde enhances the thermal stability of the composite. Composites withBer’sfibers can be used in the manufacturing of automobile parts, toys, and sports instruments.