Physical and Mechanical Properties of Pressed Palm Oil Fruit Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite for Building Partition Panels

Abstract

The density, water absorption, and mechanical properties of the pressed palm oil fruit fiber (PPOFF) epoxy composite were investigated. The fibers were matted randomly and laminated with epoxy resin and hardener using hand-lay-up method. The result of the analysis of the developed composite indicated that mass fraction of the PPOFF used in this study was less than the threshold to effect increase in the tensile properties of the resin. However, the properties increased with increase in the fiber content. Also, the density of the composite decreased while the water absorption increased as the fiber content increases. The XRD result indicated that the fibers has high crystallinity index indicating rich cellulose content but the scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrograph revealed weakly bonded fibers to the matrix due to the poor dispersion and wet-ability between the two phases. The developed composite can be useful in building partition panels.