Treated sugarcane bagasse fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester composite:the impact of fiber sizes on the mechanical and physical properties / Mu’izz Muhaimin Ahmad Subri

The mechanical and physical properties of different sizes of treated sugarcane bagasse fiber (SBF) reinforced with unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) as a green alternative to synthetic fiber were successfully studied. The characterization of untreated and treated bagasse fiber was done using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). FTIR results in this study show that 5% alkali treatment removed impurities from the fiber surface. This is proved by the disappearance of peaks related to hemicellulose and lignin before and after surface treatment. The hand lay-up method was used for the fabrication of UPR/SBF composites using five different filler formulations (0g, 2g, 4g, 6 g, and 8g) for short and powdered fiber. The constructed composites were tested for their mechanical (tensile test and impact test) and physical (water absorption test) properties. The highest tensile strength recorded in this study is in a 2g sample of UPR/short SBF composite at 32.11 MPa. The highest Young’s modulus recorded in this study is from a 4g sample of UPR/short SBF composite at 1155.61 MPa. The elongation at break test shows a decreasing trend with an increasing fiber loading for both short and powder SBF composites. An 8g sample of UPR/powder SBF composite recorded the lowest value for elongation at the break test at 3.3%. The impact strength of the 8g sample for the UPR/powder SBF composite recorded the highest value at 7.42 J/M. The water absorption test shows that both short and powder SBF composites absorb an increasing amount of water with increasing fiber loading. However, UPR/short SBF composites have a higher water absorption value compared to UPR/powder SBF composites at the same amount of fiber loading.