An Experimental Investigation on Short and Long Fiber Reinforcement in Tampico and Palymira Reinforced LLDPE Produced by Rotational Moulding Process.

Abstract

\n Rotational moulding is a powder processing technology widely used to manufacture hollow plastic products. It is a well-known process used for the manufacturing of large containers, water tanks, fuel tanks, refrigerated containers etc. The present work aimed at the incorporation of Tampico and Palmyra fibers as reinforcement in Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) matrix. The effect of fiber length on various properties like mechanical, morphological and vibration damping characteristics of the composites were investigated. The fibers were initially treated with 5% NaOH solution for better reinforcing efficiency and to improve the degradation temperature. Thermo Gravimetry Analysis (TGA) reported that a sufficient increment in degradation temperature is achieved by NaOH treatment on fibers. The short fiber composites considered for the study has obtained better mechanical strength than long fiber reinforced LLDPE composites. The results proved that fiber length has less effect on the vibration damping characteristics of the composites, but the percentage of fiber content is a significant factor for improving the natural frequency of the composites.