An Investigation of Physico-mechanical Characterizations of Recycled Cellulose Fiber and Glass Fiber-polypropylene Hybrid Composite

Abstract

In the field of marine engineering design, polymeric composites reinforced with natural fibers are extensively used. The results of this study demonstrate that these properties can be enhanced by adding glass fiber (GF) to recycled cellulose fiber (rCF) plastic composites. The performance of rCF and rCF/GF hybrid polypropylene (PP) composites is being studied in the current experimental effort. On the tensile behavior and impact strength of composites containing 30 wt% fiber, the effects of GF loading and maleic anhydride (MA) as a coupling agent were investigated. According to the findings, adding more GF increases the tensile strength of the rCF/PP composites. A hybrid composite with ten percent rCF and twenty percent GF yields tensile strengths and tensile moduli of 55.7 MPa and 1432.1 MPa, respectively. With increasing GF concentration, the impact strength of the rCF/PP composites gradually dropped. The dimensional stability and mechanical properties of the composite formulation were greatly enhanced by the addition of MA at a 2 wt% concentration. Improved interfacial bonding was confirmed by microstructure analysis of the broken surfaces of modified composites. By increasing the GF content and/or by adding a coupling agent, the dimensional stability and strength properties of the composites can be improved. Due to their increased stability and strength characteristics, the composites treated with GF and coupling agents have proven to be useful as building materials.