TY - GEN
T1 - Characterization of mechanical properties of date palm fronds reinforced composites
T2 - ASME 2016 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, IMECE 2016
AU - Alzebdeh, K.
AU - Nassar, M.
AU - Al Rawahi, H.
AU - Al-Hinai, N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2016 by ASME.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Due to many advantages of using natural resources, natural fibers have been used recently as a method of providing added strength and ductility to reinforced polymer composites. This is mainly due to their availability, renewability, low density, cost effectiveness as well as satisfactory mechanical properties. This paper presents fabrication and experimental characterization analysis of mechanical properties of a class of bio-composite in which polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) are reinforced with date palm frond fibers. Bio- composite sheets were fabricated with controlled processing parameters based on small factorial design in order to develop a statistical model for response using fractional design of experiment. In a Design of Experiment (DoE) procedure, we identify three different factors along with three different levels; fiber volume fraction (20, 40, and 60 vt. %), alkali treatment (10, 15, and 20 Wt. %), and treatment time (2, 4, and 6 h). In this study, NaOH alkali solution is used to modify the fiber properties and improve surface characteristics. The tensile and flexural strengths of specimens prepared according to ASTM standards were measured by direct physical testing. Also, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is adopted to analyze interactions among the input factors and their effect on overall mechanical properties of the fabricated composite. Results revealed that fiber length and percentage of NaOH treatment have a significant impact on the composite properties. The date palm frond reinforced polypropylene composites could serve as a potential material in broad range of industrial applications in which high strength is not a main design requirement.
AB - Due to many advantages of using natural resources, natural fibers have been used recently as a method of providing added strength and ductility to reinforced polymer composites. This is mainly due to their availability, renewability, low density, cost effectiveness as well as satisfactory mechanical properties. This paper presents fabrication and experimental characterization analysis of mechanical properties of a class of bio-composite in which polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) are reinforced with date palm frond fibers. Bio- composite sheets were fabricated with controlled processing parameters based on small factorial design in order to develop a statistical model for response using fractional design of experiment. In a Design of Experiment (DoE) procedure, we identify three different factors along with three different levels; fiber volume fraction (20, 40, and 60 vt. %), alkali treatment (10, 15, and 20 Wt. %), and treatment time (2, 4, and 6 h). In this study, NaOH alkali solution is used to modify the fiber properties and improve surface characteristics. The tensile and flexural strengths of specimens prepared according to ASTM standards were measured by direct physical testing. Also, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is adopted to analyze interactions among the input factors and their effect on overall mechanical properties of the fabricated composite. Results revealed that fiber length and percentage of NaOH treatment have a significant impact on the composite properties. The date palm frond reinforced polypropylene composites could serve as a potential material in broad range of industrial applications in which high strength is not a main design requirement.
KW - Date palm fronds (DPF)
KW - Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)
KW - Mechanical Properties
KW - Optimization
KW - Polypropylene (PP)
KW - Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021682347&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85021682347&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1115/IMECE201666573
DO - 10.1115/IMECE201666573
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85021682347
T3 - ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Proceedings (IMECE)
BT - Emerging Technologies; Materials
PB - American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Y2 - 11 November 2016 through 17 November 2016
ER -