Faculty of Engineering and Technology

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Browsing Faculty of Engineering and Technology by Author "Mutai Alice Jepkorir."

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    Determination of influence of natural fibers on the properties of fiber reinforced polyester composites
    (Egerton University, 2010-04) Mutai Alice Jepkorir.
    Sisal and pineapple fibers can be used as environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional reinforcing fibers (e.g. glass) in composites. The interest in natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites is growing rapidly due to their high performance in terms of mechanical properties, significant processing advantages, excellent chemical resistance, low cost and low density. These advantages place natural fiber composites among the high performance composites having economic and environmental advantages. The composites from sisal and pineapple fibers would result in a product material that is partially biodegradable as well as add economic value to plants. On the other hand, lack of consistent data on the performance of these fiber composites and poor resistance to moisture absorption make the use of natural fiber-reinforced composites less attractive to manufacturers. This study aimed at determining the influence sisal and pineapple leaf fibers would have on the composite properties in comparison with corresponding properties of polyester reinforced composites from literature. Leaf fibers from sisal and pineapple plants, known for their relatively high cellulose contents were extracted, surface modified and used in the study. The composites were fabricated by both the hand layup and compression methods. Three-point bend and hardness tests were carried out in accordance to ASTM D790-03 and ASTM D2240-05 standards respectively. The sisal/Palf hybrid composites showed higher bending strength than the individual composites. It was observed that the addition of glass fibers into the plant fibers enhanced the composite properties. Water absorption and thickness swelling tests were conducted in accordance with ASTM D570-99 and ASTM D1037-03 standards respectively to determine their susceptibility to wet conditions because of the hygroscopic nature of natural fibers. These tests indicated that higher fiber contents resulted in higher water absorption with the composites having glass fibers registering the lowest water uptake. This suggested that incorporating glass fibers into the natural fibers improves both the mechanical and physical properties of the resulting composites. The study concluded that sisal and pineapple fibers both sourced from plant leaves produce composites with differing properties leading to differences in performance and industrial applications.