High-strength hybrid particulate-fibre polymer composites: The role of process temperature on the mechanical strength

In this study, hybrid particulate-fibre reinforced polymer matrix composites were demonstrated as a high-strength and lightweight engineering material. The natural fibre, sisal, reinforced polymer composite is well known for its good performance in industrial applications. The mechanical strength of such sisal fibre composites were further improved by incorporating Teakwood particulates. Such particulates are composed of cellulosic and hemi-cellulosic molecules and crystallinity index of 33%, as evidenced by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) respectively. The hybrid composite samples were fabricated at varying particulate weight content (%) and different processing temperatures via compression molding technique. It is found that the processing temperature greatly influences the mechanical properties of the composite. A hybrid composite material processed at 80 °C shows the highest tensile and flexural strength of 33.2 MPa and 48.4 MPa, respectively, for the particulate content of 15 wt%. In fact, the presence of teakwood particulates facilitates arresting the propagation of cracks due to the applied load and thus improves the mechanical strength.