DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A HYBRID BIOCOMPOSITE MATERIAL FOR AUTOMOBILE APPLICATION

Abstract

Environmental pollution, depletion of raw materials, high consumption of energy during the stage of material processing and high cost of raw & semi-finished materials are the major problems now a days. To get rid of all these problems, we will require utilizing progressively renewable resources based biocomposite materials in non-structural and structural applications. In recent years, the biocomposites are gaining popularity in automotive, aerospace, building & construction, packaging, and medical applications. For successful usage of biocomposites in the above-mentioned fields, it becomes necessary to design the material in such a way that it exhibits high strength with good resistance to flame propagation and moisture sorption. The thermo-mechanical properties of hybrid biocomposites are far better than the pure single fiber biocomposites and comparable to the synthetic fiber strengthened composites. Therefore, the major objective of this study is to fabricate a high performing hybrid biocomposite material. The critical factors which significantly influence the characteristics of a hybrid composite are such as - inherent features of matrix and reinforcement, filament length, content, orientation, fiber-matrix adhesion, and morphology of the system. In this context, experimental studies have been carried out and presented in this dissertation. To determine the optimum fibers layering pattern, the various hybrid boards [Bilayer (Pineapple/Coir (P/C)); Trilayer (Pineapple/Coir/Pineapple (PCP), Coir/Pineapple/Coir (CPC)); and Intimately Mixed (IM)] were developed and characterized for flammability, viscoelastic properties, and water absorption behavior. The experimental observations revealed that the CPC material possesses higher resistance to burning and moisture absorption than the other patterns. Furthermore, the trilayer CPC composite has lower ‘C’ value, higher E', and the greater value of activation energy. As compared with PCP and bilayer (P/C) composites, the intimately mixed (IM) has a lower rate of burning, absorbs less water, the higher value of Tg, and broad width of tan δ peak. In order to select the hybrid biocomposites over traditional materials, it becomes necessary to reinforce it with optimum fiber length and content. In this regard, sixteen samples of PALF/Epoxy and COIR/Epoxy composites of varying fiber volume content (17%, 23%, 34%, and 43%) and length (10, 15, 20, and 25 mm) were iii made and characterized. Moreover, the impact of filament content (17%, 23%, 34%) on the viscoelastic behavior of composites has also been investigated. The experimental results proved that the optimum fiber content for PALF/Epoxy and COIR/Epoxy composites is 34% and 23% respectively. Finally, an experimental study was performed in order to examine the impact of an alkaline treatment with relative reinforcement content on the mechanical properties and biodegradability of PALF/COIR based hybrid material. To accomplish the desired objectives, the biocomposite sheets were fabricated at 11 levels of COIR fiber loading (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 vol.%) with fixed total fiber content (40 vol.%). The physical and mechanical characteristics of developed specimens have been determined according to ASTM standard. The total of four samples for each specimen was tested and their average value was reported. The results showed that the P50-C50 hybrid composite exhibits the best set of mechanical properties and absorbs 62% and 32% less water than the pure PALF/Epoxy and COIR/Epoxy respectively. The mechanical strength and biodegradability of an epoxy thermoset were increased by the incorporation of cellulosic fibers which results in easy and smooth adoption of epoxy-based composite for the fabrication of interior components of an automobile.