Dynamic mechanical and flexural properties of granite dust filled Arenga pinnata (sugar palm) fibre based hybrid composites / Muhammad Aizuddin Mohamad

Natural fibre is one type of reinforcement materials obtained from natural resources that is decomposable, biodegradable, renewable, and cost effective. Among all natural fibres exist, Arenga Pinnata fibre (plant based) and basalt fibre (mineral based) are identified as an attractive option for reinforcement materials due to its good mechanical and thermal properties, abundantly available and high tolerate to harsh environmental conditions. However, limitation arise when this natural fibre is combined with thermosetting resin namely fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in which this will be used as mechanical structure. This limitation is due to the mechanical properties of the thermoset resin itself that has inherently cross-linked structure thus resulting in brittle behaviour. This leads to relatively poor resistance to crack initiation and crack growth. To overcome this problem, in this study, the thermosetting polymer resin namely polyester was modified using dry fly granite dust (GD) waste of 63μm maximum size filler material. 1-5 wt% GD powder is incorporated into both, polyester composites and FRP composites. The mechanical properties of matrix resin filled granite dust reinforced with hybrid fibres were compared.