Yusran Payae and Natinee Lopattananon

pp. 189 - 194

Abstract

Natural fibers are considered to have potential use as reinforcing agents in polymer composite materials because of their principle benefits: moderate strength and stiffness, low cost, and be an environmental friendly, degradable, and renewable material. Due to their inherently hydrophilic nature, they are prone to absorb moisture, which can plasticise or weaken the adhesion of fibers to the surrounding matrix and by this affect the performance of composites used in atmospheric humidity, particularly at elevated temperatures. The surface treatments are often applied to the fiber to improve the bond strength between the fibers and matrix. This work discussed the effect of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment and epoxy resin as a compatibilizing agent on interface properties of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF)-epoxy composites. A single-fiber fragmentation test coupled with data reduction technique was employed to assess interface quality in terms of apparent interfacial shear strength (IFSS or τ_a) of untreated, NaOH, and epoxy resin treated PALFs-epoxy composites. Tensile properties of untreated and treated PALFs were also examined. It was found that both treatments substantially increase τ_a , corresponding to an improved level of adhesion. The improvement in the level of adhesion for the alkali and epoxy treated fiber composites was due to an increase in the physical bonding between the alkali treated fibers and the matrix, and due to a promoted compatibility between the epoxy treated fibers and matrix, respectively