Affiliations 

  • 1 Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia
  • 2 School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM, Johor Bahru 81310, Johor, Malaysia
  • 3 Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technical University of Liberec, Studentská 2, 461 17 Liberec, Czech Republic
  • 4 Laboratory of Biocomposite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Polymers (Basel), 2021 May 10;13(9).
PMID: 34068794 DOI: 10.3390/polym13091532

Abstract

The application of natural fibers is rapidly growing in many sectors, such as construction, automobile, and furniture. Kenaf fiber (KF) is a natural fiber that is in demand owing to its eco-friendly and renewable nature. Nowadays, there are various new applications for kenaf, such as in absorbents and building materials. It also has commercial applications, such as in the automotive industry. Magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) is used as a fire retardant as it is low in cost and has good flame retardancy, while polyester yarn (PET) has high tensile strength. The aim of this study was to determine the horizontal burning rate, tensile strength, and surface morphology of kenaf fiber/PET yarn reinforced epoxy fire retardant composites. The composites were prepared by hybridized epoxy and Mg(OH)2 PET with different amounts of KF content (0%, 20%, 35%, and 50%) using the cold press method. The specimen with 35% KF (epoxy/PET/KF-35) displayed better flammability properties and had the lowest average burning rate of 14.55 mm/min, while epoxy/PET/KF-50 with 50% KF had the highest tensile strength of all the samples. This was due to fewer defects being detected on the surface morphology of epoxy/PET/KF-35 compared to the other samples, which influenced the mechanical properties of the composites.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.