Mechanical and Thermal Characterization of Short Salago Fiber (Wikstroemia spp.) Reinforced Epoxy Resin Composites

Abstract

Natural fibers are used as alternative reinforcements in polymer composites due to their biodegradability, low density and cost. Applications of natural fiber reinforced polymers include aerospace industry, automotive parts and marine vessels. In the Philippines, one source of natural fiber is salago, which is a type of shrub with tough bark used to produce high quality paper products. In this research work, short salago fibers were reinforced in epoxy resin in random orientation. The fibers were treated with 5 wt.% NaOH solution. The fiber loading considered in the study are 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%, 15 wt.% and 20 wt.%. Mechanical properties of neat epoxy and salago fiber composites were characterized through tensile, flexural and impact tests. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to evaluate the thermal stability of the specimens. Results for 20 wt. % fiber loading show significant improvements on tensile modulus (83.5 %) and impact strength (26.4 %) as compared to neat epoxy. However, decrease on tensile and flexural strengths were observed as the fiber content increases. Nonetheless, noticeable improvement on thermal stability was obtained for the composite with 10 wt.% fiber content.