CHARACTERISTIC STUDY OF NATURAL FIBRE-REINFORCED COMPOSITE MATERIAL

Mechanical engineering

World-over there is a radical increasing demand for sustainable green material concepts and practices for raw materials which can work towards reducing the challenging environmental impact. This paper presents the research study and development of natural fibre reinforced composite board (NFCB) and its potentials over coconut coir cement boards. These boards were made from natural fibres including coconut coir, and sugarcane waste fibres mixed with binding mixture (lime+ pozzolans+ gypsum+ animal dung) water and chemicals such as borax and magnesium chloride. NFCB is made by forming the binder-fibre mixture into mats and pressing them to the desired thickness ranging from 8 mm to 25 mm at 160 degree and 190 bar pressure. The prototype was produced at three ratios 1:1:1, 1:2:1 and 2:1:2 (binding mixture: fibre: water+1.5% chemicals) then the optimum mixture ratio was found to be 2:1:2.the physical, chemical and thermal properties of the specimen were determined after 20 days of hydration. The initial testing was done for tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and ruptures which is more efficient than normal ply woods.

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