Properties of nylon-6-based composite reinforced with coconut shell particles and empty fruit bunch fibres |
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| Authors: | Shirley Savetlana Leigh Mulvaney-Johnson Tim Gough Adrian Kelly |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Universitas Lampung, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia;2. Polymer IRC, Faculty of Engineering and Informatics, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK |
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| Abstract: | Novel natural fibre composites of nylon-6 reinforced with coconut shell (CS) particles and empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibres have been investigated. Fillers were alkali treated before melt compounding with nylon-6. Mechanical, thermal and rheological properties of composites were measured. Tensile modulus was found to improve with both fillers up to 16% for nylon-6/CS composite and 10% for nylon-6/EFB composite, whereas a moderate increase in tensile strength was observed only with CS composites. Differences in the strengthening mechanisms were explained by the morphology of the two fillers, empty fruit bunch fibres having a weaker cellular internal structure. Observation of composite morphology using SEM showed that both fillers were highly compatible with nylon-6 due to its hydrophilic nature. Both fillers were found to cause a slight drop in crystallinity of the nylon matrix and to lower melt viscosity at typical injection moulding strain rates. Moisture absorption increased with addition of both fillers. |
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| Keywords: | Nylon-6 polyamide mechanical properties thermal properties rheological properties coconut shell particle empty fruit bunch fibre composite |
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