Study on Mechanical Properties of Corn-Cellulose Fibers Reinforced Polyester Composites

Abstract

This research work is focused on utilizing waste agricultural residues as reinforcement in polymer composites. Natural cellulose fibers from corn involucre petals were used as reinforcement materials in order to improve the mechanical properties of the polyester composites. Corn involucre petals fibers are the newly identified fiber which are extracted from the corn plants (Zea Mays subsp) using simple manual extraction. The extracted fiber were reinforced in polyester matrix with five level of fiber loading ranging from 10% to 70% and five levels of fiber length ranging from 10 to 50 mm. Hand layup process was used for composite fabrication and the mechanical properties of the fabricated composites were determined experimentally as per ASTM standards and Scanning Electron Microscopy was used for fractography study. The Corn involucre petal fibers reinforced polyester composites exhibited promising mechanical properties which suits their use for commercial and engineering applications.