Analysis of mechanical properties of pineapple leaf/glass fiber-vinyl ester hybrid composite

ABSTRACT

Pineapple and glass fibers reinforced vinyl ester hybrid composites were prepared in both the dispersed and skin-core types at 40 wt% using hand lay-up technique, and their mechanical properties were studied based on the content of glass fibers (5, 11, 16, and 19 wt%). The effects of the glass fiber addition on mechanical properties were discussed with varying the fiber content by keeping the overall fiber content as constant. The fractographic studies on the fracture surface of tested composite specimens were examined by using scanning electron microscopy. The results were compared with the neat resin samples and pineapple-alone composites. The results show that the mechanical properties of composites increased with an increase in glass fiber addition. Hybrid composite having the pineapple fiber of 21 wt% and the glass fiber 19 wt% show the maximum level of mechanical properties in both types of hybrid composites. The dispersed type hybrid composites show inferior performance than the skin-core type hybrid composites. The theoretical model was used to predict and compare the experimental results and was also found to be in good agreement.

Keywords
Polymer composites; Pineapple leaf fiber; Glass fiber; Mechanical properties; scanning electron microscope