Paper Title
Palmyra Palm Leaf Stalk Fibre Reinforced Natural Rubber Composites: Study of Mechanical Properties
Abstract
In this work, Natural rubber is used as matrix and Palmyra palm leaf stalk fibre is used as reinforcement. Palmyra palm leaf stalk fibres are reinforced in three different lengths such as 3, 5, 10mm. 70:30 mix proportion (Matrix: fibre) is used for the composite fabrication. The rubber composites are fabricated using a two-roll mill. Composites of size 150x 150mm are prepared and tested for tensile properties following ASTM standards. The fractured tensile fractured specimens are then analysed for the fracture mechanism using SEM. It was observed that, the reinforcement of fibre in rubber improves the properties of the composites also the change in fibre length had a positive impact on the increase in the mechanical properties.
Keywords - Natural rubber; Palmyra Palm leaf stalk fibre: Mechanical properties; SEM