Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Publication
    Cure Behaviour and Tensile Properties of Pineapple Leaf Fibre Reinforced Natural Rubber Composites
    Short natural fibres replace synthetic fibres as filler in natural rubber (NR) as they are environmentally beneficial and sustainable. This study investigates the cure behaviour and tensile properties of pineapple leaf fibre (PALF) reinforced NR composites at various fibre contents. The fibre contents are varied at 0, 10, 20 and 30 parts per hundred rubber (phr). PALF reinforced NR composites are prepared using a two-roll mill. Surface morphology of tensile fractured specimens is examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results demonstrated that the optimum cure time decreases significantly with greater fibre content. The hardness value increases gradually with increasing filler content. The stress-strain graphs show an increasing trend in stress at higher fibre content particularly at low strain regions. On the contrary, the tensile strength reduces when the fibre content is increased up to 30 phr. SEM analysis reveals that the fibre-matrix adhesion is considerably poor due to the fibre pullout phenomenon observed. It is indicated that higher fibre content could be possibly reinforced to NR to achieve high deformation stress at incredibly low strain regions.
      32  3
  • Publication
    Influence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on thermal behaviour and mechanical properties of pineapple leaf fibre-based natural rubber composites
    Replacing synthetic fibres with natural fibres as reinforcement fillers in natural rubber (NR) tends to yield eco-friendly bio-composites. This study investigated the tensile and hardness properties, and the thermal behaviour of pineapple leaf fibre (PALF)-reinforced NR composites with and without the addition of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The fibre content was varied at 0, 10, 20, and 30 parts per hundred rubber (phr) and the MWCNT content was fixed at 10 phr. The surface morphology of the tensile-fractured specimens was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify the rubber-matrix adhesion and tear mechanisms of the fibres in the NR matrix. The results revealed that including the PALF and MWCNT allowed the NR composites to exhibit excellent stretching stress at low elongations. Additionally, the composites displayed enhanced stiffness, further increasing the hardness of the composite, ranging from 46.8 to 62.8 Shore A. However, PALF reduces the thermal stability of the composite, where the initial degradation temperature increases. From the thermogravimetric analysis, the residues remaining in the NR composites ranged from 6 to 13% at various fibre loadings. Therefore, this study provides valuable insights into the tensile and hardness properties and the thermal behaviour of PALF-reinforced NR composites to improve end-use properties.
      5  22