Effects of Nanofillers On Flexural, Impact Energy and Water Absorption Properties of Woven Hybrid Kenaf/glass in Epoxy Nanocomposites

EFFECTS OF NANOFILLERS ON FLEXURAL, IMPACT ENERGY AND
WATER ABSORPTION PROPERTIES OF WOVEN HYBRID KENAF/GLASS IN

EPOXY NANOCOMPOSITES
SARINA ATIQA MSKIN
168559
A Proposal Submitted In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for Bachelor Degree

of Engineering (Aerospace)
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan
June 2016
1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost I am grateful to God that had granted me good health
throughout this one year to complete my project. I would like also to express my
deepest gratitude to my parents and family who have been supported me and being a
source of motivation from beginning of this final year project until I finished writing
full thesis. Next, I wish to express my sincere thanks to my beloved supervisor, Dr
Norkhairunnisa Mazlan and examiners Ir. Dr. Mohamed Thariq bin Haji Hameed
Sultan and Dr. Chia Chen Ciang who has guide me to carry out my project, gives
thousand of helpful advice, revise my thesis draft and corrected my final draft report
until I can submit full report on time. I place on record, my sincere thanks to staff in
Department of Biocomposite at INTROP, Upm for providing me with all necessary
facilities and teach me how to use related machine used in my project. Not to forget,
I am also grateful to staff and lab technician in Department of Aerospace,
Department of Mechanical and Department of Chemical engineering Upm for letting
me used their lab and facilities related to complete my project. Finally, I took this
opportunity to express my gratitude to all my fellow friends that support, encourage
and motivate me through this venture.
i
ABSTRACT
Natural fibre is getting famous nowadays due to their significant mechanical
properties that could replace the use synthetic fibre. Due to the low cost and
renewable source, there is an increase in demand of natural fibre. In this research,
Kenaf fibre is used as natural fibre and combines with synthetic fibre which is glass
fibre to make hybrid kenaf/ glass composite. Kenaf fibre is chosen due to its
significant mechanical properties compared to other natural fibre 20. Glass fibre is
added to strengthen the mechanical properties of hybrid composite. The hybrid
composite used epoxy as the matrix and silicone filler as matrix modification. In this
research, nanoclay and carbon nanotube is used as filler with percent of 1-wt%, 3-
wt%, 5-wt% and 7-wt%. From the flexural and impact test, the optimum
performance is at 3-wt% filler. For nanoclay sample, S3 the flexural strength and
modulus are 1726.69Mpa and 124.41Gpa respectively. While for carbon nanotube
sample, S7 the flexural strength and modulus are 9% and 20% lesser than S3
respectively. In addition, S3 absorb 17.063J energy and S7 absorb 13.907J energy.
As for water absorption test, all samples with addition filler give low water uptake
than S1 sample except for that sample with more voids.
ii
ABSTRAK
Gentian semulajadi semakin terkenal pada masa kini kerana sifat
mekanikalnya yang mempunyai potensi yang tinggi untuk menggantikan penggunaan
gentian sintetik. Disebabkan oleh kos yang rendah dan sumber yang boleh
diperbaharui, permintaan gentian asli semakin meningkat dipasaran. Dalam kajian
ini, gentian kenaf adalah salah satu gentian semulajadi akan digabungkan dengan
gentian kaca untuk membuat kenaf hybrid kaca komposit. Gentian kenaf dipilih oleh
kerana sifat-sifat mekanikalnya yang lebih baik berbanding gentian semulajadi yang
lain. Sementara itu, gentian kaca ditambah adalah untuk mengukuhkan sifat-sifat
mekanikal komposit hibrid. Dalam komposit hibrid ini, jenis maktrik yang digunakan
ialah epoksi dan silicon pengisi digunakan sebagai pengubahsuaian matrik epoksi.
Dalam kajian ini, nanoclay dan karbon nanotiub digunakan sebagai pengisi dengan
pelbagai peratus iaitu 1%, 3%, 5% dan 7% berat. Dari ujian lentur dan kesan
hentakkan, prestasi optimum dikalangan semua pengisi adalah pada 3% berat
pengisi. Untuk sampel nanoclay (S3), kekuatan lenturan dan modulus masing-masing
ialah 1726.69MPa dan 124.41GPa. Manakala bagi sampel karbon nanotiub (S7),
kekuatan lenturan dan modulus masing-masing ialah 9% dan 20% rendah daripada
sampel S3. Disamping itu, S3 menyerap tenaga 17.063J dan S7 menyerap tenaga
sebanyak 13.907J. Tambahan lagi, bagi ujian penyerapan air, semua sample dengan
adanya pengisi menunjukkan pengambilan air yang rendah berbanding S1 kecuali
sample yang mempunyai banyak lompang.
iii
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................ ii
CHAPTER 1 ........................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1
1.0 Problem Statement ........................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Objectives ................................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................................................................... 3
LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................................ 3
2.1 Composite Material ........................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 3 ......................................................................................................................... 42
METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................... 42
3.1 Materials ......................................................................................................................... 42
3.2 Specimen preparation ...................................................................................................... 43
3.3 Flexural test ..................................................................................................................... 44
3.4 Impact test ....................................................................................................................... 45
3.5 Water Absorption Test .................................................................................................... 45
3.6 Morphology observation ................................................................................................. 46
CHAPTER 4 ......................................................................................................................... 47
RESULT ............................................................................................................................... 47
4.1 Flexural test ..................................................................................................................... 47
4.2 Impact test ....................................................................................................................... 51
4.3 Water absorption test....................................................................................................... 53
CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................... 56
REFERENCE........................................................................................................................ 59
APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………………….65
iv
List of table
Table 2.1 Advantage and disadvantage of resin polymer ........................................................ 5

Table 2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of NFRPs ............................................................... 7
Figure 2.3 Examples of Natural Fibre ..................................................................................... 7
Table 2.4 Results of Natural fibre researches .......................................................................... 8
Table 2.5 Properties of natural fibres .................................................................................... 11
Table 2.6 Flexural and Impact strength result ....................................................................... 13
Table 2.7 Mechanical result of warp and weft direction........................................................ 14
Table 2.8 Mechanical properties of kenaf composite ............................................................ 16
Table 2.9 Result of resin system on mechanical properties of kenaf fibre laminates............. 17
Table 2.10 Result of mechanical properties .......................................................................... 19
Table 2.11 Result of fabricated composite ............................................................................ 21
Table 2.12 Flexural test result at 20% fibre ........................................................................... 22
Table 2.13 Samples’ Result ................................................................................................... 25
Table 2.14 Result of flexural strength and energy absorbed at different fibre orientation ..... 27
Table 2.15 Flexural result with and without CNT filer ......................................................... 32
Table 2.16 Flexural result with and without silica filler ........................................................ 32
Table 2.17 Test results .......................................................................................................... 36
Table 2.18 Density of materials ............................................................................................ 43
Table 2.19 Sample notation ................................................................................................... 43
Table 2.20 Result of Impacted Damage area ......................................................................... 52
v
List of figure
Figure 2.1 Structural of reinforced part ................................................................................... 4

Figure 2.2 Variation of tensile strength and tensile modulus................................................... 6
Figure 2.3 Example of woven fabrics.................................................................................... 12
Figure 2.4 SEM images ......................................................................................................... 18
Figure 2.5 SEM images of Jute and Kenaf composite ........................................................... 20
Figure 2.6 Result of impact strength ..................................................................................... 23
Figure 2.7 Result of Flexural properties ................................................................................ 30
Figure 2.8 Microstructure of PBSu under transmission electron microscopy ........................ 31
Figure 2.9 SEM images of epoxy coated with silica at (a) 80% vol. silica (b) 95% vol. silica
.............................................................................................................................................. 33
Figure 2.10 Graph of Flexural result ..................................................................................... 38
Figure 3.1 Material used ....................................................................................................... 42
Figure 3.2 Drop weight machine ........................................................................................... 45
Figure 3.3 Scanning Electron Microscope (S-3400N)........................................................... 46
Figure 4.1 Effects of adding nanoclay or carbon nanotubes on the flexural strength of
kenaf/glass/epoxy composite................................................................................................. 47
Figure 4.2 Effects of adding nanoclay or carbon nanotubes on the flexural modulus of
Figure 4.3 SEM image of S3 (3-wt% nanoclay) .................................................................... 49
Figure 4.4 SEM image of S3 (3-wt% carbon nanotube) ........................................................ 49
Figure 4.5 Effects of adding nanoclay or carbon nanotubes on the flexural strain of
Figure 4.6 Effects of adding nanoclay or carbon nanotubes on the energy absorption of
Figure 4.7 Water absorption result of kenaf/glass/epoxy composite filled with nanoclay ..... 53
Figure 4.8 Water absorption result of kenaf/glass/epoxy composite filled with carbon
nanotube ................................................................................................................................ 54
Figure 4.9 Water absorption results of E and E-S composite ................................................ 55
vi
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
In the recent decades, the combination of natural fibre composite based glass
fibre has been one of the major interesting research subjects due to increase in
market demand that needed composite with low cost but has good performance.
Furthermore, natural fibres are lighter and cheaper which can be obtained by natural
resources compared to glass fibre which is synthetically made of 1. One of the
application that use natural fibre mats is on automotive application which is car
bumper that use hybrid kenaf/glass (Davoodi et al 2010).
In addition, natural fibres have been studied extensively to investigate its
mechanical properties and to determine which natural fibre gives superior result. In
this research, the focus is on the study of the mechanical properties which is flexural
testing, impact testing and water absorption behaviour of nanocomposite. One of the
most significant current discussions in nanotechnology is compatibility of nanofiller
with the fabricated composite.
The aim of this present work is to study the hybridization of kenaf fibre and
glass fibre mat with the inclusion of nanofiller. The study was conducted at first
varying the filler content and performing the mechanical testing and water absorption
test. Finally, a comparison is made to find out which composite gives the best
performance.
1
1.0 Problem Statement
For many years, the manufacturing of polymer composite matrix (PMC) has
been controversial due to its uses in many applications including aerospace,
automotive, medical devices and naval applications. PMCs contain matrix and
reinforce fibre in which about 50 percent reinforcing fibre by volume. The examples
of reinforce fibre carbon/graphite, glass, aramid, kenaf (natural fibre) and many
more.
A few recent years ago, natural fibre has growing extensively in term of
market demand. Due to its low weight, low density, low cost, biodegrable, higher
strength and stiffness2 3, natural fibre become one of the most popular material for
composites application. Because of PMC do not rust, it has good corrosion resistance
characteristic over steel or galvanized steel. Since both PMC and natural fibre are
used in many industries, there is a need to reinforce PMC and natural fibre with new
material for better result (materials properties). The current composites already
posses good mechanical properties, but with the idea of addition of nanofillers to the
PMC will probably increase the flexural and compressive strength.
The reason why PMC need to be improved is because to fulfil high demand
in high risk industries that need a very strong material that has ability to delay
component failure. The reinforcement of PMC and nanofillers such as carbon
nanotube, nanoclay, aerojel and nanofibre are expected to give better performance
than current reinforcement of PMC. This research will focus on polymer matrix of
kenaf/epoxy and reinforce kenaf/epoxy with nanofillers.
2
1.1 Objectives
The purpose of this paper is to study and evaluate the properties of
composites with nanofillers. The detailed objectives are as follows:
a. To investigate the effect of nanofillers in laminated composite.
b. To determine the flexural and energy absorption for newly developed
composites.
c. To understand the morphology of developed composites
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
3
2.1 Composite Material
Composite material can be defined as the combination of two or more
material with purpose to obtain better properties than those of individual
components. Because of good mechanical properties posses by composite material,
there are more researches carried out to combine new types of composite material to
fulfil market demand. Composite material consists of reinforcing phase and matrix
phase. Usually, the reinforcing phase is stronger, harder and provides high stiffness
than matrix. The reinforcement is usually fibre or particles. There are several layup
of reinforced fibre such as unidirectional continuous/discontinuous, bi-
directionalcontinuous and random discontinuous. The structural of reinforced part is
as show in Figure 2.1
Figure 2.1 Structural of reinforced part 4
Meanwhile, the matrix phase will hold fibres together and acts as medium to
transfer stress between fibres. The matrix can be polymer, ceramics or metal.
4
Furthermore, matrix is responsible to ensure proper orientation and spacing between
matrix and reinforcing phase. Matrix also protect the reinforce fibre from abrasion
and the environment. The major types of composites are metal matrix composite
(MMC), ceramic matrix composite (CMC), and polymer matrix composite (PMC). 4
Polymer matrix composite is popular in natural fibre composite. There are
two types of matrix in PMC which are thermoplastics resin and thermoset resin.
Table 2.1 shows advantages and disadvantages of thermoset and thermoplastics
resin.
Table 2.1 Advantage and disadvantage of resin polymer
Thermoset resin Thermoplastic resin
Advantages
• Excellent resistance to solvents • High impact resistance compared

and corrosives. to thermoset resin
• Resistance to heat and high • Ability to reform (physical
temperature. change)
• Fatigue strength
• Tailored elasticity
• Excellent adhesion
• Excellent finishing (polishing,
painting, etc)
Disadvantages
• Once catalyzed, thermoset cannot • Naturally solid state of
be reversed or reformed thermoplastic resin makes it more
difficult to imprenate reinforcing
5
fiber.
Examples of thermoset resin are unsaturated polyesters, epoxies and vinyl
esters. At first, a thermoset will start at low viscosity resin that react and cures during
processing, forming and intractable solid between fibres. Among those types of
thermosets, epoxy is important matrix for fibres reinforced polymer which had been
used in many industries. The advantages of epoxy are it has high strength and
modulus, low shrinkage and last but not least it has excellent chemical and heat
resistance.5 Figure 2.2 shows the variation of tensile strength and modulus for
polyester, epoxy and vinyl ester. As can be seen, epoxy has relatively good tensile
strength and modulus which makes it suitable in fibre reinforced polymer.
Figure 2.2 Variation of tensile strength and tensile modulus 6
2.2 Natural fibre reinforced polymer
It has been well known about the manufacture of natural fibre reinforced
polymer because of its significant advantages. . Table 2.2 shows the advantages and
disadvantages of natural fibre reinforced composite. Generally, natural fibre is a non
6
synthetic material that is not manmade. It is originated from plants or animals.
Animal fibres contain wool, silk, and avian fibre. It includes sheep’s wool, goat hair,
feathers and so on. The plants produce cellulose fibre such as bast fibres, seed fibres,
leaf fibres, grass and reed fibres, and core fibres. The examples of that cellulose are
based on Table 2.3.
Table 2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of NFRPs
Advantages Disadvantages
• Low cost • High moisture absorption
• Low density • Lower durability than synthetic
• Good thermal and mechanical fiber composite (can be improved
resistivity with treatment)
• Environmental friendly • Lower processing temperatures
(renewable source) limiting matrix options
• Desirable fiber aspect ratio • Lower strength compared to
• High specific stiffness and synthetic fibre composite
strength
Figure 2.3 Examples of Natural Fibre
Cellulose fibre types Examples
7
Bast Jute, flax, ramie, hemp, kenaf
Seed Cotton, coir, kapok
Leaf Sisal, pineapple, abaca
Grass and reed Rice, corn, wheat
Core Hemp, kenaf, jute
Fibre reinforced polymer seem to be increase in demand due to its relatively
low weight and low cost. Other significant advantages of fibre reinforced polymer
are has good mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural modulus and
renewable resources. In this study, woven kenaf fibre is chosen to be reinforced fibre
in natural fibre reinforced fibre and epoxy resin as the matrix.
There are many research conducted regarding on combination of natural fibre
with thermoset matrix including hybrid composite. In this research paper will be
focused more on flexural, impact and water absorption properties.
Table 2.4 Results of Natural fibre researches

Composite Flexural Energy Water Gap studies Ref
absorption uptake
Strength Modulus (J)
(MPa) (GPa)
1 Phormium Authors did Santulli et
/epoxy- 43.0±2.0 0.8±0.255 - - not vary the al.
manually fibre (2009)7
extracted content and
Phormium only fixed
/epoxy- 60.5±4.0 4.4±0.2 the fibre at
manually 16wt%
extracted phormium
2 Treated - - Particle Author used Anbukara
mat 50% 110.0 fibre hand layup si,.
of Luffa/ gives technique. (2014)8
epoxy low For future
Untreated - moisture work vary
mat 50% 48.0 absorptio the
of Luffa/ n technique of
epoxy fabricating
process to
8
make
comparison
3 15mm 59.69 9.13 - - Authors did Venkates

Banana/ not consider hwaran et
sisal/ for fibre al.
epoxy treatment. (2011)9
4 Treated Authors did Behnaz
yarn 100.0 11.0 - - not do fibre Baghaei
Hemp/ treatment et al.
PLA (0°) for non (2014)10
Hemp/PLA - - woven
non woven 76.0 7.8 hemp and
yarn 99.0 10.8 - - also
Hemp/ composite
PLA(0°) with
yarn 60.0 6.0 - - direction
Hemp/ 45° and 90°
PLA(45°)
yarn 32.0 4.0 - -
Hemp/
PLA(90°)
5 Jute/epoxy Authors Vivek
BJFE- 43 2.35 2.87 - focus only Mishra,
0wt% on varying Sandhyar
BJFE- 30 0.50 3.89 - fibre ani
Biswas.
12wt% loading.
(2013)11
BJFE- 35 0.60 4.26 - Further
24wt% research can
BJFE- 52 1.30 4.59 - consider
36wt% fibre
BJFE- 55 3.00 4.88 - treatmetn
48wt%
6 Glass/jute/ Authors Amit
polyester only did Bindal et
flexural test al.
J 79.38 14.60 - Very after (2013) 12
high conducting
JG 297.54 19.50 - Low water
JG 276.35 21.50 - Very low absorption
(chopped test. For
strand future work
mat) can
JG 119.61 11.90 - High compare
(surface flexural test
veil) without
conduct
water
9
absorption
test.
7 Kenaf/ Dry After Dr Aft Authors Osman,E
Polyester water y er focus on et al.
abs. wat untreated (2011)
test er fibre. 13
abs.
Should
test
compare
both treat
0 wt% - Very low and
- - - -
kenaf untreated
fibre
10 wt% - Low
kenaf 58 23 3.8 1.5
20 wt% 79 35 4.3 1.6 - Average

kenaf
30 wt% 56 13 4.0 1.6 - High
kenaf
40 wt% 38 25 3.6 1.3 - Very

kenaf high
8 Flax/ Authors Huner,

Epoxy Dry After Dr Aft focus on U.
water y er untreated (2015)14
abs. wat flax fibre
test er
and did not
abs.
test
do
morphology
observation
1wt% flax 42 40 3.0 3.2 - Low
5wt% flax 51 48 3.4 3.9 - High
10 wt% 75 60 4.2 4.6 - Very
flax high
9 Hybrid Authors Gupta et
sisal/glass/ focus only al
15
epoxy on untreated (2015)
sisal fibre.
S5G5 166.88 10.95 - Very low They used
S10G10 207.02 12.97 - Low same fibre
S15G15 411.43 20.81 - High length of
S20G20 331.63 18.40 - Very sisal.
high
10
2.2.1 Woven kenaf fibre
Kenaf fibre is made by or produced from a species of Hibiscus cannabinus.
Hibiscus family is a biodegradable and environmental friendly crop. There are three
types of fibre which is more related to the constituent of kenaf plant which are bast,
core and pith.
Mechanical properties of natural fibre are affected by cellulose content.
Whereas cellulose content is depend on several aspects which are fibre length, fibre
loading or volume fraction of fibres, fibre aspect ratio, fibre orientation or interfacial
adhesion between fibre-matrix.16 In addition, it has been reported that tensile and
flexural properties of biocomposite depend on kenaf fibre loading.17 Studies have
found that kenaf bast fibre possess good mechanical properties as compared to kenaf
core and kenaf pith18 19

. Table 4 shows the mechanical properties of natural fibres.
As shown in Table 2.4, kenaf exhibit good mechanical properties than other natural
fibres.
Table 2.5 Properties of natural fibres 20

fiber Tensile strength Young’s Elongation at Density (g/𝑐𝑚3 )
(Mpa) modulus (Gpa) break (%)
Bamboo 140-230 11-17 - 0.6-1.1
Coir 175 4-6 30 1.2
Oil balm 248 32 25 0.7-1.55
Bagasse 290 17 - 1.25
Ramie 560 24.5 2.5 1.5
Flax 345-1035 27.6 2.7-3.2 1.5
Hemp 690 70 1.6 1.48
Jute 393-773 26.5 1.5-1.8 1.3
Kenaf 930 53 1.6 -
Sisal 511-635 9.4-2.2 2.0-2.5 1.5
11
Pineapple 400-627 1.44 14.5 0.8-1.6
Curaua 500-1150 11.8 3.7-4.3 1.4
Natural fibres are usually used in different form of orientations in fibre-
reinforced polymer composites for instance continuous, randomly oriented and
woven fabric mat. Woven fabric is much more attractive form because it provides
excellent integrity and conformability for structural applications. Different weaving
pattern gives different mechanical properties of natural fibre reinforced polymer.
Figure 2.3 shows examples of woven fabric
Figure 2.3 Example of woven fabrics
There are several researches had been done to investigate the effect of woven
pattern to mechanical properties of composite material which are as follow.
21
Alavudeen et al. (2015) conduct research to investigate the effect of weaving
pattern and random orientation on mechanical properties toward composite material.
They observed that the strength of composite depends on weave pattern, fiber
orientation and the bonding between fibre and matrix. The types of weave patterns
used are plain and twirl types. From the result obtained, plain woven gives the higher
12
tensile and flexural strength than twirl woven composite. This might be due to the
uniform distribution of stress transfer when tensile load is applied on both transverse
and longitudinal directions. The authors also stated that the fibre in plain woven
structure are interlaces one-to-one in both weft and warp direction which is not
presence in twirl woven. The experimental result of flexural and impact strength is
shown in Table 2.6. From the result, for individual fibre composites, kenaf/polyester
composite shows high flexural strength than banana/polyester composites. This is
due to the densified structure of kenaf fibre which contributed in high flexural
strength. For impact strength, it depends on the interfacial and interlaminar adhesion
between fibre and the matrix. However, for the same weaving pattern impact strength
is depend on the strength and structure of individual fibre constituent.
Table 2.6 Flexural and Impact strength result
Plain woven Flexural strength (Mpa) Impact strength (kJ/m²)

pattern
composite
Banana/polyester 80 19
Kenaf/polyester 110 23
Hybrid 170 25
banana/kenaf
22
Arifuzzaman Khan et al. (2013) done a comparison between woven jute fabric
(WJF) and non-woven with poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) was conducted to study its
mechanical properties which are tensile, flexural and impact. This research also
investigates the effect of treated and untreated composite toward mechanical
properties. As expected, treated WJF/PLLA composite shows the highest value of
tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus and impact
strength. The result also shows that the mechanical properties in warp direction is
13
highest than in weft direction. Mechanical result of warp direction is different form
weft direction because of higher yarn and low density of warp direction. The overall
result is in Table 2.7.
From Table 2.7, flexural behaviour showed higher value in warp direction
than weft direction. This is due to the short yarns in weft direction of composites
limit their distributiom of tensile stress. When the tensile stress tries to propagate
upward, delamination failure occurred and caused a reduction in flexural strength.23
For impact test, woven fabric cause fibre yarns of warp direction cross over fibre at
weft direction to create an interlocking structure.
The impact strength for both directions is higher than unreinforced PLLA.
This indicates that woven fabric is good as they interact with the crack formation in
the matrix and at the same time act as stress-transferring medium. Result of impact
strength also shows higher value in warp direction because it contained higher
aligned fibre and thus produced composites with higher resistance to impact stress.
Table 2.7 Mechanical result of warp and weft direction
Specimen Flexural Impact

Strength (Mpa) Modulus (Gpa) Strength
(kJ/ m²)
Unreinforced PLLA 42+
− 9.7 3.02+
− 0.8 8.82+− 0.9
NWJF/ PLLA 67+

− 8.4 2.83+
− 1.1 12.98+
− 1.1
composite
At warp direction:
Untreated WJF/PLLA 82+

− 12.0 4.3+
− 0.10 16.4+
− 1.8
composite
Treated WJF/PLLA 121 +
− 13.4 5.3+
− 0.10 18.1+
− 2.3
composite
14
At weft direction:
Untreated WJF/PLLA 81+

− 9.4 3.62+
− 0.08 14.3+
− 1.5
composite
Treated WJF/PLLA 111+
− 8.1 4.72+
− 0.05 16.6+
− 1.8
composite
2.2.2 Kenaf/epoxy composite
For the few decades, there was increasingly demand on product that used
kenaf material such as paper product, building material, absorbent and livestock feed.
Previous study has reported that kenaf has good strength and low density enough to
replace glass fibres that requires much higher energy to produce it. Due to low cost
of kenaf, it is often be used in natural fibres reinforcing material.
There are several research on kenaf/epoxy composite was conducted
regarding to determine flexural, impact and water absorption properties of kenaf
composite. For every research that had been done, the result is different which is due
to the environmental aspect and different fabrication process.
24
Bakar et al. (2014) reported a research on low velocity impact resistant on
kenaf/epoxy and kenaf/polyester composite. In their research, the fibre weight

15
percentages are varied in order to investigate the tensile properties for both
composites. The kenaf fibre loading is varied from 10 wt-% to 25 wt-%. From the
result obtained, the optimum performance of mechanical properties is at 25 wt-%.
Kenaf/polyester composite shows good impact resistance and stiffness than
kenaf/epoxy.
Table 2.8 shows the comparison of kenaf/epoxy and kenaf/polyester
composites based on its mechanical properties. From the result shows in Table 2.8,
impact energy increase as the fibre loading increased. This indicates good adhesion
between fibre and matrix. However, kenaf/polyester composites result in higher
strength than kenaf/epoxy because impact strength of polyester resin is higher than
epoxy. Besides, the deflection of composite at maximum load is depends on the fibre
content.
Table 2.8 Mechanical properties of kenaf composite
Kenaf content (wt-%) Energy absorbed (J)

Kenaf/epoxy Kenaf/polyester
10 1.62 2.42
15 2.83 2.94
20 2.42 4.57
25 2.80 4.58
25
S. Rassmann et al. (2010) conduct a research regarding on effect of resin system
on the mechanical properties and water absorption of kenaf fibre reinforced
laminates. The resins used in this experiment were polyester, vinyl ester and epoxy.
Table 2.9 shows the result of resin system on different kenaf fibre volume content.
From the result obtained in this research, it can be concluded here that epoxy resin
16
system has good strength values since epoxy resulted in good tensile strength and
flexural strength than polyester and vinyl ester. The authors stated that high or low
value of flexural strength is due to presence of voids in the composite. The
mechanical properties of kenaf/epoxy composite increase as the fibre content
increase.
Table 2.9 Result of resin system on mechanical properties of kenaf fibre laminates 25
Resin Fibre Tensile Flexural Impact

volume Strength Modulus Strength Modulus Energy Strength
(%) (Mpa) (Gpa) (Mpa) (Gpa) (J/cm) (Mpa)
15 49.0 3.25 72.5 3.60 0.22 14.0

Epoxy 22.5 52.5 3.99 84.0 4.40 0.34 23.0
30 63.5 4.40 92.0 4.49 0.42 24.5
15 28.0 4.25 5.99 3.95 0.36 22.5
Polyester 22.5 42.0 6.30 82.5 4.50 0.57 31.0
30 52.0 6.60 99.5 5.20 0.68 37.5
15 43.0 4.50 76.0 3.30 0.28 15.1
Vinyl 22.5 53.0 5.30 80.0 4.20 0.47 25.1
ester 30 66.5 5.55 82.5 4.60 0.62 34.0
For the polyester resin, from the result polyester has good modulus and
impact properties. For vinyl ester resin, it has good water absorption characteristics
as it absorb less water than polyester and epoxy resin. Furthermore, from scanning
microscope it is found out that epoxy resin bonds is better than the others as epoxy
laminates failed by fibre fracture while polyester laminates failed by fibre pull-out
17
and vinyl ester failed by two combination of these. Figure 2.4 shows the SEM
images of resin system.
a) Unsaturated polyester b) Vinyl ester
c) Epoxy
Figure 2.4 SEM images 25
26
Naveenkumar R et al. (2014) conducted a research to compare mechanical
properties between jute and kenaf fibre reinforced with epoxy resin. From the result
from this research, it shows that kenaf fibre possessed superior mechanical properties
than jute fibre. For the impact test, the response in each fibre composites indicates a
failure process involving crack initiation and growth in the fibre breakage, fibre pull-
out, delaminating and disbanding. The overall result is presented in Table 2.10.
18
Table 2.10 Result of mechanical properties
Composite Tensile Flexural Impact

Strength Modulus Strength Modulus strength (J/mm)
(Mpa) (Gpa) (Mpa) (Gpa)
Jute/epoxy 22.187 5.856 81.134 9.408 114.350
Kenaf/epoxy 34.831 6.692 85.600 - 121.900
By observing both composite sample under microscopy scanning electron,
from the SEM images for flexural test it show fracture in fibre bundle and
incomplete distribution of fibre and matrix. The image of jute fibre as shown in
Figure 2.5 b) shows fibre pull out that might explain low impact strength than kenaf
composite.
19
a) Kenaf fibre
b) Jute fibre
Figure 2.5 SEM images of Jute and Kenaf composite 26
Yakubu Dan-mallam et al. (2015) 27 study the behaviour of interwoven kenaf/ PET
(polyethylene terephthalate) reinforced epoxy hybrid composite. The result obtained
in Table 2.11 shows an increase of mechanical properties of hybrid kenaf/PET
composite than individual epoxy.
20
Table 2.11 Result of fabricated composite
Composite Flexural properties Impact strength Water absorption

Strength Modulus (J/cm) (%)
(Mpa) (Gpa)
Neat epoxy 32.0 1.40 3.50 0.15
Epoxy/kenaf/PET 38.0 2.00 12.50 4.00
(70/15/15)
Epoxy/kenaf/PET 80.0 4.50 32.00 2.10
(60/20/20)
The reason why the flexural strength increase when the fibre content is
increase is may be due to ability of interwoven fabric to withstand bending force.
Other factors that attribute to increase in flexural strength are due to interlocking
structure of fibre in matrix, individual reinforcement properties and fibre-matrix
interfacial adhesion. Increase in flexural modulus is may be due to strong bind
between fibre and matrix that cause short delamination which result in high flexural
modulus. For impact strength, the hybrid composite show improvement than neat
epoxy is because of incorporation of between kenaf and PET in interwoven fabric,
interlocking structure, and orientation of composite.
For percentage of water absorption, an increase in fibre content resulted in
decreasing of absorption of water. This is due to the drop in void content that cause
decrease in porosity and surface roughness, and strong interfacial bond.
28
Abu bakar et al. (2011) compared the mechanical properties of kenaf/epoxy
composite with and without liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR) in epoxy resin.
With the presence of LENR in kenaf/epoxy composite, the flexural properties are
higher than without LENR and neat epoxy. Based on result obtained, the optimum
performance of flexural properties was at 20% fibre. The result is show in Table
21
2.12. The flexural properties increase up to 20% fibre and decrease when further
increase the fibre content. Factor that may contribute to this increase is good
interfacial strength between fibre and matrix. With the presence of LENR in the
epoxy cause strong interface and improved the flexural strength of composite. The
result also show a decrease in flexural strength at 25% fibre which may be cause by
poor adhesion between fibre and matrix and also presence voids.
The improvement in flexural modulus is due to toughening caused by LENR
modification of LENR in the matrix. This toughening behaviour gave good energy
absorbing capacity of the composite.
Table 2.12 Flexural test result at 20% fibre
Composite Flexural properties

Strength (Mpa) Modulus (Gpa)
Kenaf/epoxy 56.33 3.4
Kenaf/epoxy + LENR 43.42 2.3
2.3 Hybrid kenaf/glass composite
In this research, kenaf fibre is hybridized with glass fibre and reinforced with
epoxy resin. Combination of natural and synthetic fibre produced composite with
good mechanical properties than single constituent natural fibre reinforced polymer.
Many researchers conducted experiment to study the mechanical properties of hybrid
natural and synthetic fibre. It is proven that hybrid natural and synthetic fibre gives
22
greater resistance to water absorption, cost saving by using of renewable fibre,
29
weight saving and improved in properties. The following researches are some
example to investigate the properties of hybrid kenaf/glass reinforced polymer.
30
Davoodi, M. M. et al. (2011) study the impact property of adding polybutylene
terephthalate (PBT) in hybrid kenaf/glass epoxy composite. They also investigate
other mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural properties. They compare
three samples which are glass/epoxy composite, hybrid kenaf/glass epoxy composite
and hybrid kenaf/glass epoxy composite with PBT.
As a result, impact strength in the presence of PBT was higher than without
the addition of PBT. This is because, the PBT particles were uniformly dispersed
which increased the interlaminate shear of epoxy resin film between plies.
Consequently energy absorption and toughness of the hybrid composite will increase.
As expected, glass/epoxy composite resulted in higher impact strength than other two
composites. The impact strength result is illustrated in Figure 2.6.
Figure 2.6 Result of impact strength 30
23
For flexural properties, hybrid kenaf/glass which is without PBT particle
show the highest value of flexural strength and modulus followed by hybrid
kenaf/glass with PBT and glass composite.
31
Atiqah et al. (2013) investigated mechanical properties of kenaf-glass (KG) fibres
reinforced unsaturated polyester hybrid composite. They compare the properties of
treated and untreated kenaf fibre toward the properties of hybrid composite. In their
work, unsaturated polyester resin and KG fibre at ratio of 70:30 by volume were
used. In addition, kenaf and glass fibre composition are varied by volume for
example (7.5/22.5 v/v), (15/15 v/v) and (22.5/7.5 v/v).
The result obtained shows that combination of (15/15 v/v) KG fibre gives
good mechanical properties than other combination. In other word, 15/15 v/v KG
fibre is the optimum and suitable combination among others. As expected, hybrid
composite with treated kenaf shows higher properties (flexural,tensile and impact)
than untreated kenaf. For flexural test, hybrid treated kenaf-glass show highest value
which is 453.22 MPa at 15/15 KG treated kenaf gives high value because of
consolidation of fibre composite which was achieved through combination of
compaction, matrix impregnation and curing.
For impact test, the result shows good impact strength at 15/15 v/v hybrid KG
which is 146.43 MPa. As mentioned before, treated kenaf give good properties than
untreated which is because treated sample did not slip into layer after impact testing.
Furthermore, fibre mat orientation which was randomly oriented can withstand the
impact force. In addition, for impact test the impact strength of the composite is
higher at higher glass fibre content. At higher kenaf fibre content, the composite
24
cannot withstand higher impact loading and resulting less toughness and more brittle
properties.
32
Muhammad et al. (2015) study the effect of adding liquid epoxidized natural
rubber (LENR) toward hybrid kenaf-glass reinforced epoxy composite. They also
compare treated and untreated kenaf fibre toward properties of hybrid composite.
Overall result of this research is in Table 2.13.
Table 2.13 Samples’ Result
Sample Impact strength (kJ/m²) Flexural properties

Strength Modulus
(MPa) (Gpa)
Neat epoxy 5.2 33.0 1.7
Hybrid kenaf/glass
Untreated fibre 7.0 59.0 2.8
Treated fibre 9.3 65.0 3.6
Hybrid kenaf/glass+LENR
Untreated fibre 10.6 68.5 3.8
Treated fibre 13.1 71.5 4.3
Based on Table 2.13, mechanical properties of hybrid kenaf/glass with and
without LENR are higher than neat epoxy. In addition, with the presence of LENR
both impact and flexural properties show an increment compare with hybrid
composite without LENR. The fibre treatment enhances the impact property which is
due to better interfacial adhesion between fibres and matrix. Presence of LENR plays
an important role as an impact modifier in the composite. Impact strength is depends
on many factors such as toughness of the reinforcement, frictional work for example
fibre pulling and nature of interfacial region. Furthermore voids, bubbles or any
impurities could affect the impact strength.
25
For flexural test, the plasticising effect of LENR increases the flexibility of
the composite and consequently more force was needed for debonding. This resulted
in high flexural strength value. Flexural modulus value of hybrid composites also
increase with the addition of LENR. This might be due to toughening effect of LENR
modification in the matrix which resulted in good energy absorbing capacity. In
addition, better mechanical performance of composite is resulted from cross linking
during the reaction which produced higher chain extensions.
33
Salleh et al. (2012) investigated water absorption test of hybrid kenaf/glass
reinforced unsaturated polyester resin under three different environmental conditions
which are rain water, distilled water and sea water.
From the result obtained, moisture content increases with immersion time.
After 3rd week, the highest moisture content of hybrid long kenaf/glass is the one that
immersed in rain water which is 10.95 wt% followed by distilled water 9.99 wt% and
sea water 9.01 wt%. Composite that was immersed in sea water show the lowest
weight gain due to presence of ionic salt in the sea water. This ionic salt blocks the
diffusion path after a long exposure and thus slowing down the absorption process.
34
Sathish et al. (2014) investigate the mechanical properties of hybrid banana-
kenaf/glass reinforced epoxy composite. They study the effect of varying fibre
orientation toward mechanical properties of hybrid composite. The fibre orientations
used in this research are vertical, horizontal, and 45° inclination. Stacking sequence
for the hybrid composite was glass/banana/kenaf/banana/glass. From the result
26
obtained, at 45° inclination of banana and kenaf fibre the hybrid composite shows
good mechanical performance.
For flexural test, hybrid composite score 24Mpa strength at 45° inclination
followed by vertical banana and horizontal kenaf orientation (40 banana/50 kenaf
fibre content) which is 21Mpa. The overall result is shown in Table 2.14. As can be
seen in Table 2.14, at higher kenaf fibre content, the flexural strength is higher. It is
probably because of kenaf possessed good strength than banana fibre.
Table 2.14 Result of flexural strength and energy absorbed at different fibre
orientation
Fibre orientation Fibre content (%) Flexural Energy

strength absorbed
banana kenaf banana kenaf (Mpa) (J)
Vertical Horizontal 50 50 19 14.6
Horizontal Vertical 45 55 21 12.90
45° 45° 40 60 24 15.81
Vertical Vertical 55 45 19 12.95
Horizontal Horizontal 60 40 18.5 13.25
For impact test, maximum energy absorbed of hybrid composite was at 45°
which is 15.81J. Combination of high kenaf content and glass fibre on top of the
specimen resulted in good strength and high energy absorption than other fibre
orientation.
35
Sharba et al. (2015) investigate the effect of varying fibre orientation on flexural
properties of hybrid kenaf/glass composite. Resin used in this research was
unsaturated polyester. They used three types of fibre orientation which are
unidirectional twisted yarn, non-woven random mat and plain woven kenaf.
27
They found out that flexural properties of hybrid kenaf/glass are depends on
fibre orientation. From the result obtained, woven kenaf hybrid composite scored the
highest flexural strength and modulus which approximately 295.0 MPa and 210.0
GPa respectively. Unidirectional kenaf hybrid scored the second highest followed by
non-woven kenaf hybrid composite.
They also stated that the flexural properties showed a non-linear behaviour
that can be divided into three stages. First stage was linear and gave modulus with
interruption at unidirectional fibre which is caused by single failure of single kenaf
fibre. Second stage is related to failure of kenaf fibre due to low elongation value.
This cause load fell to a specific value than rose up for a short period. At last stage,
the remaining glass fibre which started to carry load but could only do so for short
time that resulting in complete failure.
2.4 Fillers in composites
In the recent years, combination of polymer matrix with nano modified
polymer is increasingly in demand. Examples of nanofillers are nanoclays, carbon
nanotube, nanosilica, aerojel and so on. The purpose of adding nanofillers to
composite material is to improve material stiffnes, toughness, strength, thermal
properties and dimensional stability. Because of these advantages, nanofillers has
high potential for the improvement of mechanical properties of polymer matrix. 36
However, the properties of nanocomposite depend on several things such as
compatibility of nanofillers with polymer matrix, dispersion of nanofillers, and
interfacial bonding of nanofillers with polymer matrix. 37 38 The effect of having poor
28
dispersion of nanofillers is lead to premature failure of nanocomposite system. In
addition, having weak bonding between nanofillers and polymer matrix will cause
reduction in capability and stress transfer of nanocomposite.
Furthermore, combination of matrix-fillers will result in high interfacial area
which is due to uniform and homogenous dispersion of nanoparticles. The interfacial
area is responsible for changing relaxation behaviour, mechanical, molecular
mobility, and thermal properties.39 Some of the researches are as follow.
40
Sapiai et al. (2015) .In this study, the weight percentage of carbon nanotubes
(CNTs) is varied from 0.5wt-% to 1.0wt-%. The CNTs were added into epoxy resin
which is then used in the production in kenaf/glass hybrid composites. Based on
Figure 2.7, as the CNT content increase the flexural strength of composites
decreased. It is because of poor dispersion of CNTs in epoxy resin. It is believed that
poor dispersion of nanofillers cause poor mechanical strength.
Furthermore, as can be seen that the flexural modulus of kenaf/glass increase
with increasing of CNT content due to high stiffness of CNT which gives good
performance of composite material. Due to the entanglement of CNT tubes in the
matrix, it acts as stress concentration points that lead to composites failure. As a
result, the flexural strength will decrease.
29
Figure 2.7 Result of Flexural properties 40
Dimitrios et al. (2014).41 In this research, nanofillers used are silver, Ag, silica
(Si𝑂2 ), multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) and graphene oxide (GO). This
study investigates the effect of size, shapes and geometries of nanofillers on
morphology of poly (butylenes succinate) (PBSu). Figure 2.8 shows the
microstructure of PBSu composite with different nanofillers.
PBSu with Si𝑂2 PBSu with Ag
30
PBSu with GO PBSu with MWCNT
Figure 2.8 Microstructure of PBSu under transmission electron microscopy 41
It clearly shown from Figure 2.8, Si𝑂2 and Ag show little agglomeration on
the composite while GO and MWCNTs have big agglomerates in the matrix. This
indicates that both Ag and Si𝑂2 are well dispersed in the matrix. Other factor of filler
dispersion is the shape. Spherical shapes of Ag and Si𝑂2 were dispersed more
uniformly in the matrix compared to nanosheets of GO and carbon nanotubes which
affect the crystallization behaviour.
Zhou et al. (2007) 42 reported mechanical properties of epoxy by filling with carbon
nanotube (CNT). The weight percent of carbon nanotube was varied from 0.1% to
0.4%. The result for flexural test is in Table 2.15. From Table 2.15, the flexural
modulus continued increasing as the weight percent of CNT increase. However, for
flexural strength, it showed decreasing of value at 0.4% CNT. The decrease in
strength is caused by two factors. Firstly, the dispersion of CNT filler is not uniform
in the epoxy at higher loading systems. Secondly, presence of voids in the system
also affected the flexural strength. More voids caused decreasing in strength.
31
Table 2.15 Flexural result with and without CNT filer
Sample Flexural properties

Modulus (Gpa) Strength (Mpa)
Neat epoxy 2.46 93.5
0.1% CNT 2.54 109
0.2% CNT 2.60 115
0.3% CNT 2.65 121
0.4% CNT 2.75 113
43
Teh et al. (2006) study the properties of epoxy resin coated with silica fillers
composite. The volume percent of silica was varied from 80% to 95% volume. The
result shows that flexural properties increase in the presence of silica compared to
neat epoxy. The flexural test result is I Table 2.16.
Table 2.16 Flexural result with and without silica filler

Sample Flexural properties
Strength (Mpa) Modulus (Gpa)
Neat epoxy 68.0 3.0
80% volume of silica 98.0 23.0
For flexural strength, the best value is at 80% volume of silica and increasing
of filler volume resulting in decreasing of strength. This is because, the epoxy is
insufficient to coat with the silica fillers at higher volume. Consequently, it resulted
in poor interfacial properties and presence of high void content which reduces the
flexural strength. Figure 2.9 shows the image under scanning electron microscope
(SEM) of 80% volume and 95% volume. It clearly showed in Figure 2.9 a)
homogenous dispersion of silica filler in the epoxy. At 95% volume in Figure 2.9 b),
the image shows the epoxy is insufficient to coat silica filler which gives weak filler-
matrix interfacial properties and voids.
32
(a) (b)
Figure 2.9 SEM images of epoxy coated with silica at (a) 80% vol. silica (b) 95%
vol. silica 43
44
Tay et al. (2012) reported effect of addition of montmorillonite filler of flexural
and impact properties of kenaf-polypropylene composites. They also investigate the
effect of using compatibilizer which is Epolene E-43P toward flexural and impact
properties. They used two ranges of kenaf sizes which are 250-500μm and 53-150μm
noted as 250μm and 53μm respectively. As expected, for flexural test combination of
compatibilizer E-43P with montmoriilonite (MMT) filler show higher results than
without E-43P.
Flexural strength of composite with E-43P show increasing in value. Kenaf
size of 53μm shows the highest strength than 250μm size and neat polypropylene. It
is because smaller filler size which is 53μm kenaf and MMT resulted in more
homogenous filler distribution. Consequently, it gives better stress distribution from
matrix to filler. For flexural modulus, composite with MMT and E-43P shows
increase in value.
For impact strength neat polypropylene (with and without E-43P) shows the
highest value than composite with MMT and E-43P. This is because, kenaf has non
uniform shapes and sizes which is unable to efficiently absorbing stress transferred
from matrix. When compare sample with kenaf/PP/MMT, sample with E-43P
33
resulted in higher impact strength. This indicates an enhanced in compatibility and
stress distribution in the composites.
45
Alsagayar et al. (2014) study the effect of montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay filler
on flexural properties of its nanocomposite. They used epoxy resin as the matrix. The
MMT filler loading was varied starting from 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 phr. The result
stated that the optimum amount of MMT filler was at 1 phr. The flexural properties
of MMT/epoxy nanocomposite was slightly increased when the filler is add up until
1 phr. Further increase of filler resulted in reduction of mechanical properties. For
flexural test, flexural strength of MMT/epoxy nanocomposite increase from 0.5 to 1
phr. The maximum value of flexural strength is 110.35 Mpa.
Same goes to flexural modulus of the nanocomposite which scored 3186.85
Mpa at 1 phr. After 1 phr loading, the flexural strength and modulus decrease. This is
might due to incomplete dispersion of filler and presence of filler agglomeration. By
adding more filler in the epoxy matrix, the viscosity of the nanocomposite increased
and probably increases the creation of air-traps and micro voids. These defects can
lead to increase in stress concentration during test and led to early failure of the
specimens.
46
Glaskova et al (2009) investigate the effect of adding nanoclay filler on water
absorption of epoxy nanocomposite. They stated that epoxy resin has major
drawback of high moisture absorption which can degrades the functional, structural
and mechanical properties of the composites. They believed the addition of
nanoparticles can minimize the negative effects of water uptake such as reduces the
34
elastic characteristics of hydrophilic polymers. Lesser water uptake resulted in low
internal damage and may improve long-term performance of the nanocomposite.
From the result obtained, at high content of nanoclay it reduces at
approximately half of diffusivity than pure epoxy resin. Clay nanoparticles in the
nanocomposite act as efficient barrier against moisture transport. Consequently can
reduce the negative effect of moisture absorption.
47
Ozsoy et al. (2015) investigate the effect of micro and nanofiller size toward
mechanical properties of epoxy composite. The micro filler that they used are
aluminium oxide (𝐴𝑙2 𝑂3 ), titanium oxide (Ti𝑂2 ) and fly ash varied from 10% to 30%
weight ratio. While the nanofiller used are aluminium oxide (𝐴𝑙2 𝑂3 ), titanium oxide
(Ti𝑂2 ) and clay varied 2.5% to 10% weight ratio.
They stated that nano-filler size gives good mechanical properties than micro-
filler size. For both sizes, at higher filler content agglomerations occur and decrease
the properties of the composite. The flexural strength of nanocomposite increases up
to 5 %wt content and show decreasing in value above 5% content. The decrease in
strength is due to non-homogenous distribution of fillers at high filler content which
lead to agglomeration. For flexural modulus, it also show an increase up to certain
point because increase in filler content will increased the rigidity and stiffness
behaviour of the polymer.
35
48
Loos et al (2008) investigate the effect of short wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT)
addition on mechanical properties of epoxy matrix with the use of acetone to increase
diffusion of SWCNT in the solution and reduce resin viscosity. They stated that
small addition of nanotube in epoxy leads to slight structural changes. Flexural and
impact test was carried on in this research. From the result obtained, in 0.1%
SWCNTs addition the flexural properties show a bit decrease in value compared to
pure epoxy. But, flexural properties show an improvement at 0.25% SWCNT. From
other research, higher addition of CNT content lead to a decrease in flexural
properties. This is because from SEM analysis, nanotube is easily pulled out during
flexural testing due to poor bonding between nanotube and epoxy.
From impact test, it shows decrease in impact value for both 0.1% and 0.25%
SWCNT. This is due to nano-inclusion occurred when the epoxy become excessively
viscous and also poor interaction between nanotube and epoxy. The overall result is
in Table 2.17.
Table 2.17 Test results
Sample Flexural test

Impact strength (kJ/m²
Strength(Mpa) Modulus (Gpa)
Pure epoxy 76.8±3.3 3.0±0.2 2.2±0.2
0.1% SWCNT 76.2±3.1 2.9±0.2 1.6±0.2
0.25% SWCNT 80.1±4.6 3.0±0.2 1.6±0.1
Deepak et al. (2015) 49 study the influence of nanoclay in polyester resin reinforced
coir fibres. They compare coir composite with and without nanoclay. The nanoclay
used is fixed at 3%-wt. Impact test had been conducted and it is proven that energy
absorbed increase with the addition of nanoclay. The energy absorbed for coir
36
composite without nanoclay was 1.5J while coir composite with nanoclay was 2J. By
adding nanoclay, some reinforcement is added to the fibres. The storage modulus
increase in the composite is due to the reinforcement produce by the fibres which
allowed greater stress transfers at the interface. That is why energy absorbed increase
with the addition of nanoclay.
50
Karippal et al. (2011) had done the research on mechanical properties of
epoxy/glass/nanoclay hybrid composites. They varied the nanoclay filler from 1-wt%
to 6-wt%. From the result obtained the mechanical properties of hybrid composite
show an improvement up until 5-wt% and decreased at 6-wt%. Figure 2.10 shows the
graph of flexural strength and modulus. From the graph, the maximum performance
of hybrid composite is at 5-wt%. At 5-wt% there was a strong adhesion between
nanoclay-resin and the glass fibre which is stronger than at 2-wt% and 3-wt%. Well
dispersion of nanoclay filler also contribute to maximum performance of hybrid
composite. A decrease in flexural properties was shown at 6-wt% which because of
poor interaction between resin and nanoclay filler. Furthermore, there was also fibre
pull out of 6-wt% composite which is caused by high viscosity of resin that
contributed to the agglomeration of nanoclay. To conclude, the mechanical
properties of epoxy/glass/nanoclay hybrid is better than epoxy/glass composite.
37
Figure 2.10 Graph of Flexural result 50
51
Sivasaravanan and Bupesh Raja (2014) investigated the impact properties of
epoxy/glass fibre/nanoclay composite by varying the nanoclay percentage. They
varied nanoclay from 1-wt% to 5-wt%. The result showed the maximum impact
strength occurred at 5-wt% nanoclay. As the percentage of nanoclay increase the
impact strength also shows an increased. The average value of impact strength at 5-
wt% was 10.75J/m which is the best combination among others followed by 4-wt%
(10.05J/m), 3-wt% (9.58J/m), 2-wt% (10.20J/m) and 1-wt% (9.78J/m).
52
Kushwaha et al. (2014) compare the mechanical properties of bamboo fibre with
epoxy modified carbon nanotube (BECN) and treated bamboo fibre/epoxy composite
(BTEc). They investigate flexural properties, impact properties and water absorption
38
test. Generally, composite with carbon nanotube showed greater performance than
treated bamboo composite. For flexural test, the flexural strength for BECN and
BETc are 163Mpa and 154Mpa respectively. From the discussion, they found that
untreated bamboo has weak interfacial adhesion between matrix epoxy so that the
composite cannot withstand applied load transferred from the epoxy. From that, the
composite resulted in an inferior stiffness property. High flexural strength of BECN
resulted from good interfacial adhesion between bamboo and matrix.
For flexural modulus, BECN got 12420 Mpa while BETc got 9500 Mpa.
Factors that attribute to the higher moduli of BECN are good dispersion of CNT and
improved in interfacial bonding between CNT and epoxy.
For impact test, BECN has higher impact strength than BETc which is 84.5%
higher. This is due to better interlocking between fibres and matrix aided by CNT.
For water absorption test, for both composite, the weight gain decrease which is
because of good interfacial bonding within the composite.
53
Wulan et al (2014) investigated the effect of adding carbon nanotube (CNT)
towards mechanical properties of fruit bunch palm oil. The fruit bunch palm oil
contained cellulose fibre which is well-known natural fibre. From the result obtained,
addition of CNT affects the flexural properties of fibre of fruit bunch palm oil with
epoxy matrix composite. They varied CNT by weight percentage of 0.1, 0.5 and 1%.
The optimum performance of flexural properties of the composite was at 1%-wt. The
flexural strength of composite at 0.1, 0.5 and 1%-wt increased by 51.64%, 65.8% and
105.9% respectively. The increasing in value of strength is due to prevention of
39
cracks propagation by CNT that can lead to failure. Besides, due to nano size of
CNT, it can easily fill the gaps between matrix and fibre.
54
Islam et al (2015) studied the effect of fibre mixing and addition of clay toward
water uptake properties. They fabricate the sample at ratio 70:30 which is 70% resin
and 30% fibre. They differentiate their sample by vary fibre composition of wood to
coir fibre 0/30%, 30/0% and 15/15% with and without clay filler. The matrix used is
polypropylene (PP).
From water absorption test, composite of 0/30% (coir/PP) without MMT
shows the highest water uptake. This is due to numerous number of –OH groups that
present in the coir fibre. In addition in the 0/30% composite, there are increased in
micro-voids which enhance the amount of water uptake. For composite of 15/15%
(hybrid wood/coir/MMT), it has the highest rate of water absorption compared to
other combination. This is because, increasing in fibre in the composite resulted in
increased in hydrophilic nature of the hybrid nanocomposite and addition of MMT as
well. Hybrid composite (15/15%) without MMT has the lowest water uptake because
coir composition is decrease which also indicates the hydroxyl group is lesser and no
MMT addition.
Shen et al (2014) 55 investigate the effect of carbon nanotube addition toward flexural
properties of ramie/epoxy composite. They varied carbon nanotube content from 0.1-
wt% to 0.6-wt%. From the stress-strain curve, the failure strain increase at increasing
nanotube content up until 0.6-wt%. They mentioned that a further increased in
nantube content will not increase the failure strain due to stiffening effect of
nanotube. For flexural strength, ramie/epoxy composite is depends on compressive
40
strength of the composite which is as a function of modulus matrix. Basically, the
strength comes from ultra high strength and modulus of nanotube itself. Presence of
nanotube will strengthen and stiffened of fibre and the matrix thus makes it more
difficult for the composite to buckle.
41
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Materials
The main materials used in this study were woven kenaf fibre with density of
1.44 g/cm³, E-600 glass fibre and epoxy resin with density of 1.1 g/cm³. For the
nanofillers, the fillers used are nanoclay and carbon nanotubes. The weight
percentage of nanofillers is varied from 1wt-%, 3wt-%, 5wt-%, and 7wt-%. Table
2.18 shows density of each material.
Figure 3.1 Material used
42
Table 2.18 Density of materials
Material Density (g/cm³)
Epoxy (100A:28.4B) 1.10
Slow hardener (103) 1.10
Kenaf (Bangladesh) 1.44
Glass (E-800) 2.50
Silicone filler 1.00
Carbon nanotube 2.10
Nanoclay 200-500 kg/m³ (bulk density)
Table 2.19 Sample notation

Notation Composition
NE Neat epoxy
ES Neat epoxy with silicone filler
S1 Kenaf/glass/epoxy
S2 Kenaf/glass/epoxy+1% nanoclay
S6 Kenaf/glass/epoxy+1% carbon nanotube
3.2 Specimen preparation
The specimens decided in this experiment are neat epoxy, kenaf/glass/epoxy,
and kenaf/glass/epoxy with nanofillers. Total specimens in this experiment are ten
specimens. The experimental steps are as follow.
a. Firstly, the woven kenaf and glass fibres are cut for 300x300mm dimension.
After that, the weight of the woven kenaf and glass fibres are measured. From
that weight, we can calculate the needed weight for resin based on decided
ratio. The example of calculation is in Appendix.
b. To get resin solution, the epoxy and hardener are mixed. Stir slowly until the
solution is fully mixed. Then nanofiller are added into the resin solution.
43
c. Next, wax is applied on the needed surface for specimen layup. Leave the
surface for approximately 5 minutes.
d. The first layer of glass fibre is placed on the wax surface. Resin solution is
applied on top of it. Make sure that the entire layer is fully applied with resin.
e. Then, the next 2 plies woven kenaf layer is placed on top of first layer. Step
(c) and (d) are repeated with the last layer of glass fibre. There are seven plies
to make one sample of kenaf/glass/epoxy composite.
f. After finish the layup process, a plate is placed on top of the sample. The
sample is then put into a 40 tonne compression molding with 5 minutes pre-
heat, 20 minutes full press and 3 minutes cold press.
g. Next, every sample is cut according to ASTM standard for flexural, impact
and water absorption test. Then these entire tests are conducted and the
morphological properties are observed.
h. Record all the data needed.
3.3 Flexural test
Flexural test is carried out according to ASTM D790 with sample dimension
of 127x12.7x3.2mm. Machine used to conduct flexural test is 5kN INSTRON 3365.
From flexural test, there are two mechanical properties are obtained which are
flexural modulus and flexural strength.
44
3.4 Impact test
Impact test is carried out according to ASTM 7136 with sample dimension of
150x100x3.2mm. Machine used to conduct impact test is Drop Weight machine
which is located at Makmal Struktur Aeroangkasa of Universiti Putra Malaysia.
From impact test, impact strength is evaluated for every sample.
Figure 3.2 Drop weight machine
3.5 Water Absorption Test
Water absorption test is carried out according to ASTM 570 with sample
dimension of 76x25x3.2mm. Before the test is conduct, original weight is measured
and recorded. Water uptake is calculated using formula below.

𝑤𝑓 − 𝑤0
× 100%
𝑤0
Where 𝑤𝑓 is the weight of sample after immersed in water for several time.
45
3.6 Morphology observation
Morphology test is a test that requiring sample observation using scanning
electron microscope at chemical lab of Universiti Putra Malaysia. The purpose of it
is to observe sample behaviour after carried out flexural test. Some criteria that need
to be observed are fibre pull-out, presence of filler agglomeration and dispersion of
filler in matrix.
Figure 3.3 Scanning Electron Microscope (S-3400N)
46
CHAPTER 4
RESULT
4.1 Flexural test
2000
1404.59
1726.69 1575.53
1800
1541.59
1600 1380.10 1496.42 1399.51
1275.97
Flexural strength (MPa)
1400
1200 1159.45
591.74
1000
800 558.40
600
400
200
0
E E-S S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9
Sample
Figure 4.1 Effects of adding nanoclay or carbon nanotubes on the flexural strength of
kenaf/glass/epoxy composite
47
140
103.56 124.41
120 104.24
94.43 99.33
Flexural modulus (GPa)

100 81.36
77.26 80.88
80
60 52.09
32.73
40
15.58
20
0
E E-S S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9
Sample
Figure 4.2 Effects of adding nanoclay or carbon nanotubes on the flexural modulus
of kenaf/glass/epoxy composite
Generally, all sample show an improvement of flexural properties compared
to neat epoxy. The optimum performance of flexural properties is at 3-wt% of
nanofiller. From Figure 4.1 the flexural strength increase up to 3-wt% filler and show
decreasing in value when further adding the filler content. Increasing in strength is
due to good interfacial adhesion between fibre and matrix (Kushwaha et al. 2014).
Furthermore, uniform dispersion of filler leads to good flexural strength. Above 3-
wt% filler, flexural strength decrease because of insufficient of epoxy to coat with
filler that resulted in poor interfacial properties (Teh et al. 2006).
Figure 4.2 shows the flexural modulus that gives same trend as flexural
strength. Increase in filler content will increase the rigidity and stiffness of the
polymer (Ozsoy et al 2015) and resulted in improved modulus up to certain point.
For nanoclay sample which is from S2 to S5, sample S3 showed the highest flexural
strength and modulus that is 1726.69MPa and 124.41GPa respectively. S3 gives 23%
48
and 20% improvement of strength and modulus respectively when compared to S1.
In addition, S3 show great performance compared to S7. S7 gives 1575.53MPa of
strength and 99.33GPa modulus. This can be proven by SEM observation in Figure
4.3 and Figure 4.4. Figure 4.3 shows good adhesion between fibre and matrix (with
clay) while Figure 4.4 shows poor adhesion. Furthermore, as can be seen in Figure
4.3 there is also clay agglomeration in the matrix but not significant.
When compared to carbon nanotube filler, nanoclay filler is treated clay.
Treated clay gives better interfacial adhesion with the matrix which resulted in good
flexural properties than carbon nanotube. Moreover, carbon nanotube is untreated
type which gives poor interfacial.
Figure 4.3 SEM image of S3 (3-wt% nanoclay)
Figure 4.4 SEM image of S3 (3-wt% carbon nanotube)
49
For flexural strain, S4 and S8 show the highest strain which is 5-wt% of
nanoclay and carbon nanotube respectively. By increasing the filler content, the
flexural strain will increase up to certain limit. This is due to stiffening effect of the
filler itself (Ozsoy et al 2015). As can be seen in Figure 4.5, the epoxy modified
silicone sample show an improvement than neat epoxy. The cross-linked silicone
core gives an additional strength to the matrix and stiffens the matrix. Figure 4.5
shows the result of flexural strain.
25
17.17
20
Flexural Strain (%)
15
11.93
10.07 8.27
9.4 8.17
9.0
10
6.67 6.53
5.3 5.5
5
0
E E-S S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9
Sample
Figure 4.5 Effects of adding nanoclay or carbon nanotubes on the flexural strain of
kenaf/glass/epoxy composite
50
4.2 Impact test
20
18 17.06 15.92
15.89 15.96
16 14.76
13.41 13.91 13.08
14
Energy Absorption (J)
12.36
12
9.54
10
8
6
4
0.92
2
0
-2 E E-S S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9
Sample
Figure 4.6 Effects of adding nanoclay or carbon nanotubes on the energy absorption
of kenaf/glass/epoxy composite
From Figure 4.6 the optimum performance of energy absorption value is at 3-
wt% filler. 3-wt% nanoclay composite (S3) exhibit the highest energy absorption
than 3-wt% carbon nanotube composite. When compared to S1, S3 gives 7%
improvement of energy absorption while S7 gives 12% lesser energy absorption than
S1. At filler content above 3-wt% energy absorption decrease which is because of
nano-inclusion occurred when epoxy become excessively viscous (Loos et al 2008).
To compare neat epoxy and modified epoxy-silicone (ES), the ES composite
gives significant higher energy absorption than neat epoxy. This is due to the high
brittleness of epoxy than ES composite that resulted in low energy absorption. With
the addition of silicone to the matrix epoxy, some reinforcement is added to the resin
system. The silicone filler act as a good binder between matrix and matrix bonding
which gives higher energy absorption.
51
Table 2.20 shows the overall damage area for sample S1 to S9. As can be
seen, the variation of damage area for nanoclay sample show different trend from
carbon nanotube sample.
Table 2.20 Result of Impacted Damage area

Damage area Damage area (mm²) Damage area (mm²)
(mm²) for S1 Nanoclay sample Carbon nanotube sample
S2 1455 S6 390
611 S3 402 S7 804
S4 367 S8 419
S5 953 S9 297
Due to properties of nanoclay filler, it is surface modified filler which gives
better matrix to fibre adhesion. At 3-wt% nanoclay, S3 gives highest energy
absorption and small damage area. It is different for carbon nanotube sample where
the highest energy absorption which is S7 but has bigger damage area. This is
because carbon nanotube filler used in this project is not modified and gives low
performance and poor adhesion. Mixing of untreated nanofiller without a
compatibilizer, can lead to a bad dispersion and lead to filler agglomeration which
decrease the strength of the interphase region (Zoukrami et al 2008)56.
As stated by previous research, bigger damage area indicates that the

57
composite has higher energy absorption and energy dispersion (Hawa et al 2015 ,
Ye L. et al 2004 58). But at the addition of filler in composite the energy dispersion or
absorption is depend on properties of nanofiller.
Furthermore, as mention before the filler gives an additional reinforcement to
the fibre itself. This reinforcement gives higher storage modulus that allows greater
52
transfer of stress at between fibre and matrix (Deepak et al 2015). The energy
absorption of S3 and S7 are higher with interlocking structure of woven kenaf and
glass fibre that require more energy to break the coupling between the fibre bundles.
4.3 Water absorption test
water absorption of nanoclay

20
18
16
14
water uptake (%)
12 S1
10 S2
8 S3
6 S4
4 S5
2
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Day
Figure 4.7 Water absorption result of kenaf/glass/epoxy composite filled with

nanoclay
53
water absorption of CNT filler
12
water uptake (%) 10
8
S6
6 S7
S8
4
S9
2 S1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
Day
Figure 4.8 Water absorption result of kenaf/glass/epoxy composite filled with carbon
nanotube
Based on Figure 4.7 there was a rapid water uptake at the first three days. For
sample with nanoclay, S4 gives the highest water uptake which is 9% more at the
compared to S1 followed by S3, S2 and S5. As can be seen in Figure 4.8 which is
sample with carbon nanotube filler, S8 gives the highest water uptake among sample
with nanotube filler but, S8 show lesser water uptake compared to S1 which is 1.0%
less. Highest water uptake of sample with nanoclay is might related increase in
hydrophilic nature in the hybrid nanocomposite due to addition of nanoclay (Islam et
al. 2015). Increase in hydrophilic nature will increase the water uptake.
In addition, all samples shows higher water uptake compared to neat epoxy
and modified epoxy-silicone. This is because sample S1 to S9 contain fibre which
also increase the hydrophilic nature that contribute to more water uptake. Besides, as
can be seen in Figure 4.9 that modified epoxy-silicone gives a bit higher water
54
uptake compared to neat epoxy. From the Figure 4.9 at the first three days, modified
epoxy-silicone absorbs water 0.3% more compared to neat epoxy.
water absorption of neat epoxy and epoxy

modified silicone
1.4
1.2
1
Water uptake, %
0.8
E-S
0.6
E
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Day
Figure 4.9 Water absorption results of E and E-S composite
When compared all hybrid kenaf/glass composite, sample with nanoclay and
carbon nanotube filler show lower water uptake than S1. This is because addition of
filler can minimize water uptake by reducing hydrophilic characteristic of polymer
(Glaskova et al. 2009).
As a conclusion, presence of fibre in composite will increase the hydrophilic
nature and increase water uptake. An agglomeration of filler and presence of voids
will also lead to high water uptake. An illustration of presence of filler agglomeration
and voids is as in Figure 5.0.
55
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
For this study, flexural and impact properties were the main concerns with water
absorption behaviour as a test to identify which sample gives highest water uptake. For
flexural test, S3 gives the highest flexural strength and flexural modulus. The reason of
highest strength is due to good interfacial adhesion between fibre and matrix. Another
possible reason that leads to good flexural strength is well dispersion of filler in the matrix.
Besides, factor that contributes in good flexural modulus is increase in rigidity and stiffness
of the polymer which is due to the presence of filler. After flexural test, a morphology
observation is done under scanning electron microscope. The purpose of morphology
observation is to study the surface of the composite and identify possible factors of flexural
performance. Sample S3 and S7 were chosen to be investigated under SEM. It is proven that
S3 gives good interfacial adhesion between fibre and matrix while S7 gives poor adhesion.
As mentioned in the discussion part, carbon nanotube is not treated filler and it gives poor
adhesion between fibre and matrix. More images of SEM result are attached in Appendix B.
For impact test, S3 and S7 gives high energy absorption compared to other samples.
The presence of filler in the compoite gives an additional strength that gives higher storage
modulus that allows greater transfer of stress at between fibre and matrix which
resulted in high energy absorption. Furthermore, after impact test is done a non-destructive
test which is dye penetrant test is conducted. The purpose of it is to allow dye to penetrate
the impacted surface for clear observation of damage area. As for damage area, generally if
56
the damage area is bigger there is more energy is being dispersed. But in the inclusion of
filler it restricted the crack propagation and resulted in small area. The pictures of all impact
samples after dye penetrant test are attached in Appendix C.
For water absorption test, it is conducted until all samples show constant weight. At
the first 10 days all samples shows rapid water uptake. After several days, S4 gives the
highest water uptake compared to S1 and other nanoclay sample. While for carbon nanotube
samples, S8 gives the highest water uptake. The addition of nanofiller could minimize water
uptake and decrease hydrophilic nature. But S4 and S8 with 5-wt% nanoclay and 5-wt%
carbon nanotube respectively gives highest water uptake which is due to present of voids and
error in fabrication.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Non-uniform dispersion of filler will lead agglomeration of filler which
decrease mechanical properties and high water uptake. To enhance dispersion of
filler, during mixing process student should put the filler in the resin solution evenly
using a filter and avoid put the filler all at once. The reason of using filter is to avoid
foreign objects from entering the resin solution. Furthermore, student can increase
the speed of the homogenizer to enhance filler dispersion.
During hand layup process, student should not delay too much time because
as the hardener is mix with the resin, the curing process occurred rapidly and lead to
agglomeration. In addition, while using compression molding, the machine
sometimes could not function well. If full press did not occurred the sample will
resulted in increase in thickness which affected the water absorption test later on.
57
Student should repeat the sample to avoid high error in test results and inconsistent in
reading.
As for impact test, after conducting one impact sample student should left the
drop weight machine for about 7 minutes before continue for other samples. This is a
precaution to avoid instrument error. After one impact sample the machine still has
residual effect and to avoid this residual effect affect the result for next sample,
student should left the machine for rest.
58
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Effects of Nanofillers On Flexural, Impact Energy and Water Absorption Properties of Woven Hybrid Kenaf/glass in Epoxy Nanocomposites

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Effects of Nanofillers On Flexural, Impact Energy and Water Absorption Properties of Woven Hybrid Kenaf/glass in Epoxy Nanocomposites

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EFFECTS OF NANOFILLERS ON FLEXURAL, IMPACT ENERGY AND

WATER ABSORPTION PROPERTIES OF WOVEN HYBRID KENAF/GLASS IN

SARINA ATIQA MSKIN

A Proposal Submitted In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for Bachelor Degree

Department of Aerospace Engineering

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan

full thesis. Next, I wish to express my sincere thanks to my beloved supervisor, Dr

Department of Biocomposite at INTROP, Upm for providing me with all necessary

I am also grateful to staff and lab technician in Department of Aerospace,

Department of Mechanical and Department of Chemical engineering Upm for letting

opportunity to express my gratitude to all my fellow friends that support, encourage

and motivate me through this venture.

Natural fibre is getting famous nowadays due to their significant mechanical

renewable source, there is an increase in demand of natural fibre. In this research,

added to strengthen the mechanical properties of hybrid composite. The hybrid

respectively. In addition, S3 absorb 17.063J energy and S7 absorb 13.907J energy.

than S1 sample except for that sample with more voids.

Gentian semulajadi semakin terkenal pada masa kini kerana sifat

mekanikalnya yang mempunyai potensi yang tinggi untuk menggantikan penggunaan

diperbaharui, permintaan gentian asli semakin meningkat dipasaran. Dalam kajian

hentakkan, prestasi optimum dikalangan semua pengisi adalah pada 3% berat

adanya pengisi menunjukkan pengambilan air yang rendah berbanding S1 kecuali

sample yang mempunyai banyak lompang.

Table 2.1 Advantage and disadvantage of resin polymer ........................................................ 5

Figure 2.1 Structural of reinforced part ................................................................................... 4

resources compared to glass fibre which is synthetically made of 1. One of the

bumper that use hybrid kenaf/glass (Davoodi et al 2010).

In addition, natural fibres have been studied extensively to investigate its

most significant current discussions in nanotechnology is compatibility of nanofiller

with the fabricated composite.

been controversial due to its uses in many applications including aerospace,

PMC will probably increase the flexural and compressive strength.

component failure. The reinforcement of PMC and nanofillers such as carbon

kenaf/epoxy and reinforce kenaf/epoxy with nanofillers.

The purpose of this paper is to study and evaluate the properties of

composites with nanofillers. The detailed objectives are as follows:

a. To investigate the effect of nanofillers in laminated composite.

b. To determine the flexural and energy absorption for newly developed

c. To understand the morphology of developed composites

Composite material can be defined as the combination of two or more

material with purpose to obtain better properties than those of individual

components. Because of good mechanical properties posses by composite material,

of reinforced fibre such as unidirectional continuous/discontinuous, bi-

directionalcontinuous and random discontinuous. The structural of reinforced part is

as show in Figure 2.1

Figure 2.1 Structural of reinforced part 4

Polymer matrix composite is popular in natural fibre composite. There are

Table 2.1 shows advantages and disadvantages of thermoset and thermoplastics

Table 2.1 Advantage and disadvantage of resin polymer

Thermoset resin Thermoplastic resin

• Excellent resistance to solvents • High impact resistance compared

Examples of thermoset resin are unsaturated polyesters, epoxies and vinyl

strength and modulus which makes it suitable in fibre reinforced polymer.

Figure 2.2 Variation of tensile strength and tensile modulus 6

2.2 Natural fibre reinforced polymer

disadvantages of natural fibre reinforced composite. Generally, natural fibre is a non

based on Table 2.3.

Table 2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of NFRPs

Figure 2.3 Examples of Natural Fibre

Cellulose fibre types Examples

Fibre reinforced polymer seem to be increase in demand due to its relatively

in natural fibre reinforced fibre and epoxy resin as the matrix.