TENSILE AND HARDNESS PROPERTY EVALUATION OF KAOLIN- SISAL FIBRE- EPOXY COMPOSITE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4314/njt.344.1005Keywords:
Epoxy Kaolin-Sisal fiber composite, Tensile and hardness properties, XRD, Shore D hardness, CalcinationsAbstract
In this work, the tensile and hardness properties of Kaolin- sisal fibre- epoxy composite were evaluated using standard methods. Epoxy type 3354A with its hardener was mixed in the ratio 2:1. Calcined kaolin particle with average size of 35µm and 3-4mm sisal fibre were added to the epoxy matrix during the composite manufacture in a proportion of: 60/40 wt %, 60/30/10 wt %, 60/20/20 wt %, 60/10/30 wt % for matrix, fibre and Kaolin respectively. The green mixtures were poured into aluminum mould and left for 24 hrs to cure. The results showed that the addition of kaolin and sisal fibre affected mechanical properties of the epoxy resin. The maximum strain observed for each specimen after tensile tests were as follows: 12% for specimen A; 12% for specimen B; 3.9% for specimen C; 11.5% for specimen D and 6% for specimen E. The Shore D hardness values were as follows: 79.1 for specimen A (control); 55.68 for specimen B; 42.82 for specimen C; 78.7 for specimen D and 81.34 for specimen E. The hardness values was reduced from 55.68 to 42.83 and increased to 81.34. Specifically, the tensile and hardness properties increased proportionately with the fibre quantity and inversely proportional to the kaolin content. These are attributed to the level of bonding strengths between the fibre-matrix-particulate interfacial adhesions.
Downloads
Issue
Section
License
The contents of the articles are the sole opinion of the author(s) and not of NIJOTECH.
NIJOTECH allows open access for distribution of the published articles in any media so long as whole (not part) of articles are distributed.
A copyright and statement of originality documents will need to be filled out clearly and signed prior to publication of an accepted article. The Copyright form can be downloaded from http://nijotech.com/downloads/COPYRIGHT%20FORM.pdf while the Statement of Originality is in http://nijotech.com/downloads/Statement%20of%20Originality.pdf
For articles that were developed from funded research, a clear acknowledgement of such support should be mentioned in the article with relevant references. Authors are expected to provide complete information on the sponsorship and intellectual property rights of the article together with all exceptions.
It is forbidden to publish the same research report in more than one journal.
How to Cite
