Flexural Strength Analysis of Starch Based Biodegradable Composite Using Areca Frond Fibre Reinforcement

Natural fibres and biodegradable matrices are being considered nowadays as substitutes to synthetic fibre reinforced polymer composites mainly in sectors where high load carrying capacity and high strength are not prerequisites. Present study utilizes biodegradable matrix composite prepared by varying the weight of the base material (95–170 g), binder (5–10 g), and plasticizer (5–20 g) with treated areca frond fibres as reinforcement. Contents are transferred to a pneumatic press, compacted, and subjected to curing. Taguchi method with L8 orthogonal array was used to reduce the number of experiments. Specimens for the flexural tests are cut out from the prepared laminates and tests are performed using UTM. Maximum flexural strength of 16.97 MPa was obtained with a combination of base (170 g), binder (10 g), and plasticizer (5 g). Analysis of the results indicated that plasticizer has the maximum effect on flexural strength of the biodegradable composites.