A Comparative Study on Mechanical Properties of Kenaf Fiber-Reinforced Polyester Composites Prepared by VARI, RTM and CM Techniques

This work aims at comparing the mechanical properties of composite laminate fabricated by three different fabrication processes. Kenaf fiber polyester composite laminates were fabricated by compression moulding technique, Vacuum assisted resin infusion process (VARI) and Resin transfer moulding proc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IOP conference series. Materials Science and Engineering 2019-11, Vol.577 (1), p.12189
Main Authors: Suresh Babu, A, Gowthamraj, S, Jaivignesh, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Comparative studies
Compression moulding (CM)
Compression tests
Compressive strength
Fiber composites
Flexural strength
Impact strength
Kenaf
Kenaf fiber
Laminates
Mechanical properties
Polyester
Pressure molding
Resin transfer molding
Resin transfer moulding process (RTM)
Vacuum assisted resin infusion process (VARI)
Water absorption
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Summary:This work aims at comparing the mechanical properties of composite laminate fabricated by three different fabrication processes. Kenaf fiber polyester composite laminates were fabricated by compression moulding technique, Vacuum assisted resin infusion process (VARI) and Resin transfer moulding process (RTM). Vacuum assisted resin infusion (VARI) process bridges the gap between labour intensive compression moulding process and capital intensive Resin transfer moulding (RTM) process. The mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural and impact behaviour were studied. Vacuum assisted resin infusion process showed improved tensile and flexural strength as compared to resin transfer moulding process and compression moulding (CM) process. On the other hand, impact strength of VARI composites is slightly lower than that of RTM and CM composites. From the study, it was found that mechanical properties increase with increase in fiber content and uniform distribution of resin in the matrix. The void content and water absorption properties were evaluated and found to be maximum for the compression moulded composites.
ISSN:1757-8981
1757-899X
DOI:10.1088/1757-899X/577/1/012189