Processing, characterization and mechanical behavior of coir fiber reinforced epoxy Composites

Abstract

Fiber reinforced polymer composites has been used in a variety of application as class of structure material because of their many advantages such as relatively low cost of production, easy to fabricate and superior strength compare to neat polymer resins. Reinforcement in polymer is either synthetic or natural. Synthetic fiber such as glass, carbon etc. has high specific strength but their fields of application are limited due to higher cost of production. Recently there is an increase interest in natural composites which are made by reinforcement of natural fiber. Because the natural fiber give good property at lower cost of production In this connection an investigation have been carried out to make better utilization of coconut coir fiber which is very cheaply and easily found in India. The objective of the present research work to study the mechanical properties of coconut coir reinforced with epoxy composites. The effect of fiber loading and length on mechanical properties like tensile strength, flexural strength, hardness of composites is studied. Also, the surface morphology of fractured surfaces after tensile testing is examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).