Effects of Addition of Glass Fibers and SiC Particles on the Mechanical and Machinability Behaviours of Areca Fine Fiber-Reinforced Phenol Formaldehyde Composite

In the present experimental study the effects of addition of Glass Fibers (GFs) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) particles on the mechanical and machinability behaviors of Areca Fine Fiber (AFF)-reinforced Phenol Formaldehyde (PF) composites were evaluated in three stages. Composites were prepared by hand lay-up technique at room temperature. From the first stage, it is observed that the 20AFF/20GF/PF hybrid composites give better mechanical properties than the other hybrid composites followed by the 10AFF/30GF/PF hybrid composite. The results of second stage revealed that the AFF/GF/SiC/PF hybrid composites exhibited the highest values of mechanical properties after addition of the 6% of SiC particles. From third stage, it is observed that the cutting speed is most significant process parameter during drilling of the 20AFF/20GF/6SiC/PF hybrid composite, followed by feed rate.