Mechanical Behavior of Agricultural Waste Fibers Reinforced Vinyl Ester Bio-composites

Agricultural waste fibers have great potential in composite due to its high strength, eco-friendly nature, low cost, availability and sustainability. The agricultural waste is one of the most important problems that must be resolved for the conservation of the global environment. In this study, the potential of agricultural wastes such as bagasse, oil palm, coconut, cornhusk, groundnut shell and rice husk fibers as reinforcements in vinyl ester composites was investigated. The necessity of this work is to respond to the social demands for the disposal of environmentally problematic agricultural wastes and property improvement. Hence, the effects of four levels of fiber loadings (5, 10, 15 and 20 wt. %) on the mechanical properties of the composites were studied. For overall trend, as the percentage of fiber loadings increased the ultimate tensile strength, tensile modulus and hardness of the composites substantially improved, whereas the tensile strain decreased compared with the pure vinyl ester matrix with a verge point value at 10 wt. % reinforcement. In general, oil palm fibrous waste showed superior mechanical properties due to its chemical characteristics. This study has shown that the ultimate tensile strength, tensile modulus, tensile strain and hardness of the composites varied substantially based upon the type of fiber utilized and the fiber loadings, with a maximum value at 10 wt. % agro fiber content.