Effects of High-Temperature Exposure on the Mechanical Properties of Kenaf Composites.
Polymers (Basel) 2020;
12:polym12081643. [PMID:
32718078 PMCID:
PMC7465180 DOI:
10.3390/polym12081643]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Automotive parts, including dashboards and trunk covers, are now fabricated through a compression-molding process in order to produce lightweight products and optimize fuel consumption. However, their mechanical strength is not compromised to avoid safety issues. Therefore, this study investigates kenaf-fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites using a simple combing approach to unidirectionally align kenaf fibers at 0°. The kenaf composite was found to withstand a maximal temperature of 120 °C. The tensile and flexural strengths of the aligned kenaf composites (50 and 90 MPa, respectively) were three times higher than those of the commercialized Product T (between 39 and 30.5 MPa, respectively) at a temperature range of 90 to 120 °C. These findings clearly showed that the mechanical properties of aligned kenaf fibers fabricated through the combing technique were able to withstand high operating temperatures (120 °C), and could be used as an alternative to other commercial natural-fiber products.
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