Title: A comprehensive investigation on the fabrication parameter optimisation for natural fibre reinforced laminate sandwich composite

Authors: T. Ganapathy; Milon Selvam Dennison; S. Arivazhagan; M. Shirin Ayisha Maryam; R. Radhakrishnan; M. Thirukumaran; P. Sivasamy

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, P.S.R. Engineering College, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kampala International University – Western Campus, Uganda ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Computer Science and Engineering, S. Veerasamy Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology, Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, United Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, P.S.R. Engineering College, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, P.S.R. Engineering College, Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: This research investigates the fabrication of natural fibre-reinforced laminate sandwich composites, emphasising the synergy between fibre type, polymer laminate, and fibre treatment. The grey relational and Taguchi techniques were employed to analyse the combinations of three natural fibres (snake grass, banyan, pineapple), three polymers (high-density polyethylene, high-impact polystyrene, polycarbonate), and chemical treatments (alkali, potassium permanganate, benzoyl peroxide). The compression moulding was adapted to produce the polymer sandwich composites with natural fibre reinforcements. The mechanical properties of the fabricated composites were measured using tensile and flexural tests. The contribution of the parameters to the outcomes was estimated using ANOVA. The comparison analysis suggests that the chemical treatment is the most influential fabrication parameter for controlling multiple response characteristics. The most critical process parameters for achieving the desired qualities (with values of 0.687, 0.663, and 0.655) are chemical treatments, polymer laminate, and fibre categories. Thereby, the three important fabrication parameters contribute to the advancement of sustainable composite materials.

Keywords: natural fibre; polymer laminate; chemical treatment; compression moulding; sandwich composite; grey relation; Taguchi technique.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMATEI.2024.140204

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation, 2024 Vol.15 No.3, pp.264 - 284

Received: 25 Nov 2023
Accepted: 14 Jan 2024
Published online: 29 Jul 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article