Investigation into the use of alkali treated screwpine (Pandanus Utilis) fibres as reinforcement in epoxy matrix

In this study, epoxy resin vacuum infused in screwpine fibres has been used to investigate whether it can emerge as a realistic alternative to glass fibre composites. The screwpine fibres were mercerized and treatment conditions were selected on the basis of cellulose percentage and fibre surface morphology. Experimental design, based on Taguchi’s L9 Orthogonal Array showed that mercerization with 5 % NaOH for 45 min at 75 °C offered optimum results. ANOVA illustrated that temperature was in fact the most influential parameter followed by NaOH concentration and time. ATR-FTIR was used to analyze the fibre-composition change as a result of mercerization. Compression testing of composites showed that alkali-treated fibre composites withstand more load than untreated fibre composites at 5, 10, and 15 % (weight basis) fibre loadings. Fatigue test also confirmed that results are significantly better when composites are made from treated fibre. The outcomes indicate that screwpine fibres may be used as a potential reinforcing material for low-load bearing composites such as automobile components.