Wear Properties of Oil Palm Cellulose Fibre Reinforced PolymerComposites

Abstract

This paper deals on the effect of alkaline treatment and addition of Nano Silicon Carbide(n-SiC) on the wear behavior of oil palm cellulose fiber reinforced polymer composites subjected to prolonged exposure to the water. In this study, 0 wt.%, 1 wt.%, 2 wt.% and 3 wt.% n-SiC with fixed content of oil palm cellulose fibre (OPCF) were reinforced with low viscosity epoxy resin (FR-251)and placed in the water for 35 days to investigate the effect of water absorption on wear properties of the composite. Besides, alkaline treated and untreated OPCF fibres with 2% n-SiC reinforced FR-251 composites were fabricated and placed in water for 35 days for wear test. Results indicated that water uptake of the composite decreased significantly as n-SiC content increased. On the other hand, alkaline treated oil palm cellulose fibres showed considerable reduction of water uptake compared to untreated fibres. Wear test results after exposure in water medium indicated that the alkaline treatment of fibres and inclusion of n-SiC improved the wear resistance of the composites significantly. Microstructure study of wear specimens indicated that composites with highest n-SiC (3%) contained the least trapped air bubbles.