Mechanical Properties of Treated Single Areca Fibre

Abstract

Natural fibre (NF) composites are gaining importance by the researchers and scientists because of their advantages over synthetic fibre composites. The drawback of using any NF as the reinforcement in the composite formation is its hydrophilic nature because of its high cellulose content. This will weaken the strength of the composite prepared from the NF. To overcome this problem, various chemical treatments can be done, so that it modifies the surface properties of the fibres and makes it hydrophobic which thereby increases the mechanical properties of the composites. The surface modification of areca fibre was done by treating with NaOH at different concentrations and exposure time. The fibres were then subjected to the mechanical characterization. It showed that the mechanical properties of the treated fibres increased to an appreciable extent in comparison with untreated fibres. Thus the areca fibre serves to be a promising material in composite manufacture.