Effect of coupling agent on mechanical and thermal behaviour of oil palm/jute hybrid composites

Abstract

Hybrid composites prepared by using oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and jute fibres as reinforcement in epoxy matrix by keeping the EFB/jute fibre weight ratio constant at 1:1. In this study, effect of coupling agent on tensile and flexural properties of oil palm empty EFB/jute fibres reinforced epoxy hybrid composites evaluated. Hybrid composites are prepared by using hand layup technique. Particular interest is the effect of coupling agent (CA), 2-Hyroxy ethyl acrylate (HEA) on the tensile and flexural properties of hybrid composites. The laminates coupled with HEA showed better tensile and flexural properties than the one without coupling agent. The highest tensile and flexural strength value has been obtained for hybrid composite of jute/EFB/jute (CA). Tensile fracture composite specimens were analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to know the morphological behaviour of composites. Thermal properties of the hybrid composites were investigate to observe the effect of 2-Hyroxy ethyl acrylate (HEA) on thermal stability of hybrid composites.