Characterization of Biocomposite Materials based on the Durian Fiber (Durio Zibethinus Murr) Reinforced using Polyester Resin

Abstract

Characterization of composites based on the of Durian (Durio Zibethinus Murr) fiber using polyester resin had been done by the method of random orientation. The fibers of 2 cm length in average were extracted using 5 % of NaOH chemical solution for 1.5 hours. The obtained fibers were measured with compositions of 0 gr, 0.1 gr, 0.2 gr, 0.3 g and 0.4 gr. Then, those fibers were mixed by polyester resin and catalyst then pressed uniformly to reduce void on each sample. The mechanical and physical properties of composites were tested by the Electronics System Universal Tensile Machine Type SC - 2DE. The values of tensile strength, flexural strength and strong impact were obtained as 39.165MPa, 46.439MPa and 13.65kJ/mm 2 , respectively. On the other hand, the bulk density was measured as 1.022/cm 3 and the content of water was 2.0 %. The results showed that the mechanical and physical properties are mostly in the required range of the Standard JIS A 5905:2003 such as tensile strength >0.4 MPa, flexural strength >32.0 MPa,bulk density 1.07 - 1.3 gr/cm 3 and percentage of water absorption was 5-13%.