MECANICAL PROPERTIES OF NON

WOVEN NATURAL FIBER COMPOSITE

A Project Report Submitted
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
By

ABHAY KUMAR SINGH (1650540002)

ARPIT TRIVEDI (1650540010)
HIMANSHU PANDEY (16050540020)
VINAY YADAV (1650540058)

Under the Supervision of

Mr. ASHWINI KUMAR AGNIHOTRI

(Assistant Professor)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Allenhouse Institute of Technology, UP, INDIA
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow (UP), INDIA
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that ABHAY KUMAR SINGH (1650540002), ARPIT TRIVEDI

(16505400010), HIMANSHU PANDEY (1650540020), VINAY YADAV (1650540058) has
carried out the project work presented in this report entitled “MECHANICAL
PROPERTIES OF NON WOVEN NATURAL FIBER COMPOSITE” for the award of
Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from Abdul Kalam Technical
University, Lucknow under our supervision. The thesis embodies result of original work and
studies are carried out by the students and the contents of the thesis do not form the basis for
the award of any other degree to the candidate or to anybody else from this or any other
University/Institution.

Mr. ASHWINI KUMAR AGNIHOTRI

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Allenhouse Institute of Technology
Kanpur, UP, INDIA
Date:……………..
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We wish to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and thanks to my supervisor

Mr. Ashwini kumar Agnihotri in conceptualizing this report.
We express my sincere thanks to Mr. Vikas Kumar Head of Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Allen house Institute of Technology Kanpur for providing me the necessary
facilities in the department and for his valuable guidance.
We also thanks to all the staff members of the department who helped us directly or indirectly
in completing this work.
Working on the topic “MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF NON WOVEN NATURAL
FIBER COMPOSITE” has been a wonderful experience for us.

ABHAY KUMAR SINGH

ARPIT TRIVEDI
HIMANSHU PANDEY
VINAY YADAV
 ABSTRACT

There is a growing field in the natural fiber composite and the main focus is towards the
mechanical properties of the non-woven natural fiber composites. Non- woven natural fiber
composite , the one which are made up of natural fiber like luffa and other fibers , which are
natural in formations.

There is significant work published in recent years about natural fibres polymeric composites.
Most of the studies are about the characterization of natural fibres and their comparison with
conventional composites regarding mechanical behaviour and application performance. There
are dozens of types of natural fibres with different properties influencing their use, or not, in
specific industrial applications. The natural origin of these materials causes, in general, a wide
range of variations in properties depending mainly on the harvesting location and conditions
making it difficult to select the appropriate fibre for a specific application. In this paper, a
comprehensive review about the properties of natural fibres used as composite materials
reinforcement is presented, aiming to map where each type of fibre is positioned in several
properties. Recent published work on emergent types of fibre sisal reviewed. A bibliometric
study regarding applications of natural fibres composites is presented. A prospective analysis
about the future trends of natural fibres applications and the required developments to
broaden their applications is also presented and discussed
 CONTENT

CHAPTER 1 PAGE NO.

1.1 INTRODUCTION 9

1.2 HISTORY 10

CHAPTER 2
2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW 11

CHAPTER 3

3.1 OBJECTIVE 12

CHAPTER 4
4.1 METHODOLOGY 13

CHAPTER 5
5.1 RESULT AND DISCUSSION 14
CHAPTER 6

6.1 FUTURE SCOPE 15

 LIST OF FIGURES

Sr No. FIGURE No. NAME PAGE NO.

1. 1 N F COMPOSITES 10
LIST OF TABLE
 CHAPTER 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION
In the last few years, there have been a stringent consumer’s awareness towards new products
from renewable sources. Green marketing, new directives on recycling, social influence and
change of cognitive values has led the consumer towards environmentally friendly products.
In particular, composite materials are being developed and redesigned aiming to improve and
to adapt traditional products and introduce new products in a sustainable and responsible way
. This projects examines and discusses the last published trends in
the context of fibers-reinforced bio-composite materials while providing an insight about
natural fibers for bio-composites, with the focus on properties and their applications. Natural
fibers are mainly either plant or animal sourced. The first is essentially comprised of
cellulose, whilst the latter is protein-based. However, in the composites industry, natural
fibers are often referred to as vegetable fibers. One of the issues of natural fibers is the
scattered information and the differences in mechanical properties reported. Also, the lack of
standards for both producers and users of these materials regarding methods to collect, treat,
process and post-process natural fibers adds to the complexity of selection.
These issues are in fact, critical deterrents for generalized use of natural fibers in different
applications. To address this gap, in this paper, a review of different mechanical properties of
natural fibers and their applications is presented.
1.2 HISTORY
Natural fibers or natural fibers  are fibers that are produced by plants, animals,
and geological processes.[1] They can be used as a component of composite materials, where
the orientation of fibers impacts the properties.[2] Natural fibers can also be matted into sheets
to make paper or felt.[3][4]

The earliest evidence of humans using fibers is the discovery of wool and dyed flax fibers
found in a prehistoric cave in the Republic of Georgia that date back to
36,000 BP.[5][6] Natural fibers can be used for high-tech applications, such as composite parts
for automobiles. Compared to composites reinforced with glass fibers, composites with
natural fibers have advantages such as lower density, better thermal insulation, and reduced
skin irritation. Further, unlike glass fibers, natural fibers can be broken down by bacteria once
they are no longer in use.

Natural fibers are good sweat absorbents and can be found in a variety of textures. Cotton
fibers made from the cotton plant, for example, produce fabrics that are light in weight, soft in
texture, and which can be made in various sizes and colors. Clothes made of natural fibers
such as cotton are often preferred over clothing made of synthetic fibers by people living in
hot and humid climates
 Fig1.1 Nf Composites

CHAPTER 2

2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

The wide applications of NFPCs are growing rapidly in numerous engineering fields. The
different kinds of natural fibers reinforced polymer composite have received a great
importance in different automotive applications by many automotive companies such as
German auto companies (BMW, Audi Group, Ford, Opel, Volkswagen, Daimler Chrysler, and
Mercedes), Proton company (Malaysian national carmaker), and Cambridge industry (an auto
industry in USA). Beside the auto industry, the applications of natural fiber composites have
also been found in building and construction industry, sports, aerospace, and others, for
example, panels, window frame, decking, and bicycle frame [8].
In a review of chemical treatments of natural fibers, Kabir and coworkers [9] concurred that
treatment is an important factor that has to be considered when processing natural fibers.
They observed that fibers loose hydroxyl groups due to different chemical treatments, thereby
reducing the hydrophilic behavior of the fibers and causing enhancement in mechanical
strength as well as dimensional stability of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites. Their
general conclusion was that chemical treatment of natural fibers results in a remarkable
improvement of the NFPCs.
Naturalfibrescanbeclassifiedbasedupontheiroriginintothefollowinggroups: animal,mineral and
plant. Plant fibres are the most commonly accepted fibres by the industry and the most
analysed by the research community. This is mainly due to the short growth period,
renewability and wider availability . The vegetable fibres are composed of cellulose,
hemicellulose and lignin, which can be extracted from bast, leaf, seed, fruit, wood, stalk and
grass/reed.

Moreover, there are some relevant previous studies suggesting that some fibres may have a
potential ability to work as reinforced candidates in near future, for example, roselle (hibiscus
sabdariffa), sugarcane (saccharum cilliare), pine, bagasse, henequen, alfa, among others (for
additional fibre list see references.

The natural fibres are usually referred to have several benefits over synthetic fibres such as
availability, low cost, low density, acceptable modulus-weight ratio, high acoustic damping,
low manufacturing energy consumption, low carbon footprint and biodegradable.
 CHAPTER 3

3.1 OBJECTIVE
The main objective of the whole project is that the mechanical properties of the non – woven
natural fiber composite should be categorized and calculated and if possible should be
increased or enhanced .

The natural fiber composites have taking placed mainly to be used for manufacturing
component and automotive applications.Natural fibers have been implemented into polymer
matrix as early as 1908 for the fabrication of large quantities of sheets, where paper cotton is
used as reinforcement in phenolic resin. Increasing interest of lignocellulosic fiber in
composites as substitute for the synthetic reinforcement in composite has been noticed. They
have been evaluated as replacement for conventional reinforcing fiber such as glass and other
synthetic fibers . These environmentally friendly composites exhibit various advantageous
characters such as, low density materials yielding relatively light-weight composite with high
specific properties . Major drawbacks of these natural fibers are low reinforcing characters
compare to synthetic fibers due to lacking ability in load transferring mechanism from fiber to
matrix. However, an alternative route to improve mechanical performance of natural fibers is
by fabricating these natural fibers into textile forms.

Recently, majority of natural fiber reinforced with low cost, non-woven mat of fiber which
limit the scope in optimizing the geometry and packing arrangement . Fabric textile
composites have received great attention in improving mechanical properties of natural fiber
composite. Mechanical properties of fabric composite largely influenced by several factors
such as fiber yarn and matrix properties, weaving/braiding architectures, yarn spacing (with
and thickness), fiber packing density and fiber fraction
 CHAPTER 4

4.1 METHODOLOGY
Natural fiber strand was supplied from MARDI are twisted into yarn and then formed into
mat and woven structures of perform in about 30% vol. fraction of composite. Mat pattern
structure is obtained by compression process of continuous fiber into flat thin sheet while the
woven pattern is obtained by weaving technique through mini weaving loom machine. These
preform are laid down into mats form as continuous thin flat sheet and interlacing warp and
fill strands into plain weave and twill weave pattern. The woven structures of kenaf fiber are
fabricated using conventional weaving loom machine. Each mat and woven textile perform is
cut into desire shape according to the mold size. Then, the preform is laid down onto the
metal mold.

The matrix material, unsaturated polyester, MEKP and cobalt octanoate was supplied by
Rivertex Sdn. Bhd. Resin, hardener and accelerator were thoroughly mixed by mechanical
stirrer for 5 minutes. The resin mixture is pour into zig-zag configuration on fiber preform to
suppress the impregnation of resin. Roller is used to consolidate the resin and remove air
bubbles. The sample is gone through the hot press for 25 minutes at 50°C. The composite
samples were post cure in the oven at 80°C for overnight.

kenaf fiber, they have been compared between with control sample which unreinforced
polyester matrix. Samples were conditioned at room temperature and a relatively humidity for
at least 48 hours. Then the sample are cut according to standard tensile test, ASTM D638 and
Izod Impact test, In order to evaluate the effectiveness of woven and non-woven structure of
ASTM D256 before test using Universal Testometric (Micro500) and Ray-Ran Pendulum
Impact System (RR2500) respectively. In each respective test, the speed of crosshead was set
at 10mm/min with 100 kN cell for ASTM D638 and weight of the pendulum with 0.898 kg
and velocity of pendulum 3.5 ms-1 was used for the ASTM D256. Three point bending test
were conducted at room temperature. Dimension of the specimen were 3.2 mm in thickness,
127 mm in length and 12.7 in width.
 CHAPTER 5

5.1 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The non-woven fiber in polyester matrix were investigated up to their failure. Figure 1 shows
tensile strength behavior of mat, plain and twill weave pattern of kenaf composite. Higher
tensile strength value achieved by twill weaves fabric structure. However, there are no
significant different in plain weave. Lower in tensile strength mat composite contributed by
non-crimped and inhomogeneous distribution fibers. Where in weave pattern, the warp and
fill yarn draped better and produced strength by stability of yarn [14]. The interlace structure
of woven composites are believed produced better crimp between fill and warp fiber.

Fiber perform structure effect on mechanical properties had been investigated on non-woven
and woven structure of kenaf fiber. The highest tensile strength is achieved by woven
structures while lower value obtained in mat structure composite. Modulus elasticity of
woven composite also shows higher significant value compare to mat and control sample.
There were quite different changes of elongation at break between woven and non-woven
fiber. However, for impact strength, twill weave of woven structure has shown greatest value
among all perform structures. A flexural property of plain and twill weave shows superior
characters among all samples. The mechanical properties of structural composite are largely
influenced by fiber structure and arrangement.

The application of natural fiber composite is that , There are several

industries such as automotive, construction, energy and aerospace, among others which are
being challenged by the society and governments to make products which are more
environmentally sound and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels [10,89,90]. In this
perspective, the European Commission implemented a “European Guideline 2000/53/EG”
that set a goal of improving automotive recyclability to 85% in 2005 for a vehicle by weight.
This percentage was increased to 95% by 2015 [91]. This type of legislation is a significant
driving factor towards the adoption of natural fibre composites. In this scenario, natural fibres
are an attractive option for industries to meet socio-economic and environmental challenges.
Furthermore, the use of natural fibres would create employment opportunity in rural and less
developed regions thus helping in achieving the sustainable development goals by the United
Nations, namely eliminating poverty, building inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
fostering innovation, creating sustainable cities and communities and responsible production
and consumption [92]. Therefore, natural fibres will play a vital role in socio-economic
development of our society. In this section, applications where natural fibres are already in
use and where can be used and what does the future holds in terms of their applications across
many different industries is presented and discussed.

Natural fibres polymeric composites are an effective way of improving the quality of parts
regarding the environment, economic and technical feasibility. However, to accomplish this
goal, there are certain issues that need to be tackled. A first issue is addressed in Section 2,
where a comparison of the several natural fibres properties and price is presented. However, it
is clear from this review that material properties are strongly dependent on the context
namely, where the crop is cultivated, how the treatment is made, how it is processed and
applied.

Moreover, it is also evident from this section that several natural fibres are available in the
market and whilst most have relevant mechanical properties, they also present very scattered
properties. Again, this is due to the natural cycle but also due to each manufacturer using its
own method to produce and use these natural fibres. It can also be noticed that several studies
present results using different standards and some are not even clear about the standards used.

Another important observation is that several fibres are reported as more expensive than
others, with the same performance in terms of mechanical properties. Fibres such as flax,
ramie, cotton and hemp are reported to have costs that are superior to all the others but with
no great dvantage in terms of mechanical properties. Availability, reliability or other “ility”
are responsible for this.

Therefore, selecting the most suitable natural fibre for a particular application requires an
integrated analysis followed by a decision-making process. Despite all of these
aforementioned issues, there are several markets and industries that have interesting
applications of natural fibres. The automotive industry is the most active and
knowledge-intensive sector which plays an important role in the development of non and
semi-structural parts. But there are other industries which gradually branched out to products
segment made of natural fibre composites as well, such as furniture, medical, sports, among
others.

CHAPTER 6

6.1 FUTURE SCOPE

This section is devoted to the future trends in terms of applications of natural fibres. However,
it is important to point out there are only very few reports on use of the bio-based materials in
the European activity sectors. There is only a limited information and transparency about
applications, markets and future market potential. Moreover, the latest market data is from
2012 and no information is available since then in the last five years [102]. There could be
two reasons for this situation. First reason is that the industrial sector in general and
theautomotivesectorinparticular,donotseenatural fibres as a part of the bio-based industries;
consequently, there are no targets to increase the share of bio-based products. Secondly, the
industrial sector is very sensitive about privacy and only a few producers disclose data while
others prefer not to share any data and official statistics on shares of bio-based materials in
the products

Based on [95], the use of natural fibres is expected to increase significantly in future as they
are starting to enter other markets than just the automotive sector. The production forecast
scenarios are presented in Table 11 for 2012 and 2020. A significant difference in amount of
natural fiber and wood-based composites can be observed for this period. However, it can be
argued that the fast development will not take place if there are no substantial political
incentives to increase the bio-based share of the materials used in products, mainly in
automotive sector products

The potential of use of natural fiber, especially as composite reinforcement, depends largely
on the increasing of regulation and its commercial characteristics, namely by creating
standards for their production and post-treatment. The evolution of the knowledge regarding
natural fiber will allow to
standardizethekindoffibresavailableinthemarketandallowdesignerstohavehigherlevelsoftrust
concerning mechanical and chemical properties. The scientific community has a crucial role
in relation to the releasing of accurate and fully characterized studies allowing a robust
increase in fundamental knowledge about natural fiber.