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Influence of Curing Temperature and Fiber Volume Fraction on the Mechanical Properties of Sisal Fiber Reinforced Polyester Composites

C.Boopathi, S.Kalyana Sundaram, S.Jayabal, S.Karthikeyan

Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites are gaining interest among researchers because of its attractive properties such as low weight, higher stiffness and low cost. This investigation is aimed at studying the effect of curing temperature and fiber volume fraction on the mechanical properties of sisal fiber reinforced polyester composites. The composite sheets were fabricated by varying the curing temperature (40, 60, 80 and 100oC) and fiber volume fraction (15, 30 and 45 %). The fabricated composite sheets were tested for its mechanical properties namely tensile and impact strength as per ASTM standards. The regression model was developed to study the relationship between fabrication parameters and mechanical properties. The tensile and impact properties of sisal fiber reinforced polyester composites were optimized using Response surface methodology (RSM). The result obtained was found to be significant and confirmed the effective role played by fabrication parameters considered in this investigation, on improving the tensile and impact properties of sisal fiber reinforced polyester composites.