Title: Parametric study of sisal-epoxy resin composite treated in sodium bicarbonate solution using Taguchi orthogonal array

Authors: Sahil Kansal; Ajay Singh Verma; Suman Kant; Pankaj

Addresses: Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, 160012, India ' Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, 160012, India ' Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, 160012, India ' Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, 160012, India

Abstract: The sisal-fibre reinforced epoxy composite is fabricated with hand layup method using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array. The novelty of the present investigation is treatment of fibres with sodium bicarbonate, which is economical and eco-friendly as compared to other alkaline treatments like sodium hydroxide, isocyanate triazine in development of epoxy composite. The controlled process parameters viz. fibre length (mm), fibre content (wt%), and concentration of sodium bicarbonate (wt% by vol.) is considered in maximising the output response characteristic, i.e., tensile strength (Mpa). The average output response characteristic is measured as per ASTM D638 at defined set of experimentation condition. Moreover, variation in output response characteristics is predicted through ANOVA and significant effect of individual process parameters are identified. The statistical analysis exhibits that the fibre length is the most significant parameter in maximising the output response followed by sodium bicarbonate concentration, and fibre content. It is also observed that the maximum average tensile strength is achieved 79.93 Mpa with 6 mm fibre length, 20 wt% fibre content, and 10 wt% by vol. sodium bicarbonate in development of sisal-fibre reinforced epoxy composite.

Keywords: epoxy resin; sisal-fibre; sodium bicarbonate; NaHCO₃; Taguchi; ANOVA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMATEI.2020.108886

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation, 2020 Vol.11 No.3, pp.264 - 274

Received: 14 Sep 2019
Accepted: 13 Mar 2020
Published online: 05 Aug 2020 *

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