EPOXY EFB PALM FIBRE MAT COMPOSITES - THE EFFECTS OF FIBRE WEIGHT FRACTION ON MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR

The mechanical behaviour of empty fruit bunch (EFB) palm fibre/epoxy composite with varying percentage fibre mass fraction, Mf, was investigated. The mat was prepared by random distribution of a predefined weightage of loose fibres within the effective volume of the mould cavity, followed by wetting with epoxy resin and left to cure under compression. The EFB loaded specimens showed measurable improvement in mechanical properties as compared to pure epoxy. Composite loaded with 27% EFB fibres achieved the highest increment in the measured tensile strength (14.8%) and Young’s modulus (87%). However, increasing fibre content led to a reduction in elongation at break. Similar trend was observed for flexural behaviour whereby the flexural strength and flexural modulus showed an increasing trend with the addition of EFB fibre.