Effect of Seawater Absorption on Mechanical and Flexural Properties of Pineapple Leaf Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Nanoclay Composites

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

ES Materials and Manufacturing

Abstract

To alleviate the problem of moisture absorption of Pineapple Leaf Fibers (PALF), surface modified montmorillonite nanoclay (1.5 wt%) was dispersed in the epoxy PALF composite using ultrasonication and magnetic stirring processes. Compression molding and hand layup techniques were used to fabricate both PALF reinforced epoxy and epoxy nanoclay composites. By immersing the fabricated composite samples in artificial seawater till saturation, the effect of surface modified nanoclay on artificial seawater absorption was analyzed. Moisture uptake was determined from regular weight readings, and diffusion coefficient was computed. With the incorporation of nanoclay, the diffusion coefficient and saturation moisture uptake were lowered by 54% and 74%, respectively. Impact of artificial seawater absorption on tensile and flexural properties was assessed. Tensile strength lowered by 16% for PALF reinforced epoxy nanoclay composites and 23% for PALF reinforced epoxy composites. While there was no appreciable change in the epoxy nanoclay composite, the tensile modulus for the PALF reinforced epoxy composite decreased by 15%. A similar pattern was also seen in the flexural characteristics as well. Nanoclay has reduced the impact of moisture absorption on mechanical properties, which is evident from scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images.

DOI

10.30919/esmm1067

Publication Date

12-1-2023

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