Title: Effect of process parameters in chemical modifications on mechanical properties of Sansevieria cylindrica/polyester composite using Taguchi technique

Authors: C. Bennet; I. Siva; J.T. Winowlin Jappes; N. Rajini

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil-626126, Virudhunagar Dist., Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil-626126, Virudhunagar Dist., Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cape Institute of Technology, Levinjipuram-627114, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kalasalingam University, Krishnankoil-626126, Virudhunagar Dist., Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: The present study investigates the influence of process parameters such as different alkali, concentration of alkali and duration of treatment on flexural and impact properties of Sansevieria/polyester composites. The L9 orthogonal array was selected for conducting the experiments. The Sansevieria cylindrica fibre reinforced polyester composites were fabricated using compression moulding technique. The Taguchi technique was employed to predict the optimum condition of process parameters. The following order of parameters are identified as key parameters i.e., different alkali, concentration of alkali and duration of treatment which affects the flexural and impact properties. The significant changes in flexural and impact properties of composites were observed for all the nine experiments due to the changes in morphological structure of fibre which influences the interfacial adhesion.

Keywords: mechanical properties; Taguchi methods; process parameters; chemical modification; Sansevieria cylindrica; cylindrical snake plant; fibre reinforced polyester composites; FRPC; alkali; flexural properties; impact properties; morphological structure; interfacial adhesion.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAET.2015.066165

International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and Technology, 2015 Vol.7 No.1, pp.15 - 28

Published online: 04 Dec 2014 *

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