Characterization of date palm wood used as composites reinforcement

Abstract

This work reports the results of an experimental investigation on physical and mechanical properties of Algerian date palm tree residues in order to optimize their performances when used as reinforcement. The results have shown that all the samples are characterized by porous and fibrous structure with irregular surface, which contains a large number of uncompleted grown fibers (expected to be residual lignin). Concerning the mechanical properties of date palm fibers (DPF), the results show that they are comparable to those reported for coir and are lower than those reported for other natural fibers. However with regard to the specific mechanical properties, date palm fibers show higher values than those of other natural fibers. This is due to the low values of bulk density of date palm wood, especially of that of Petiole.