Jamil Hashim

Betelnut fibres as an alternative to glass fibres to reinforce thermoset composites: A comparative study

For the current work, investigations were carried out using treated betelnut fibre-reinforced polyester (T-BFRP) and chopped strand mat glass fibre-reinforced polyester (CSM-GFRP) composites. Results revealed that T-BFRP showed competitive performance of about 1.16%, 17.39% and 4.92% for tensile, flexural and compression tests as compared to the latter. Through tribological performance tests, T-BFRP composite showed superiority in wear for the dry and wet tests of about 98% and 90.8% while the friction coefficient was reduced by about 9.4% and 80% respectively. The interface temperature was lower by about 17% for T-BFRP composite subjected to dry test as compared to CSM-GFRP. SEM analysis revealed that the brittle effects observed on glass fibres during the tribo test enhanced the material removal rate which increased the thermo-mechanical effects at the rubbing zone. As such, evidence of adhesive to abrasive wear transition was observed when the CSM-GFRP composite was subjected to the stainless steel counterface. On the contrary, T-BFRP composite formed a thin layer of shield (i.e. back film transfer) on its worn surface during the test, which assisted in lowering the material removal rate.

Effect of kenaf particulate fillers in polymeric composite for tribological applications

The present work aims at exploring the possibility of using sustainable kenaf particles as particulate fillers and reinforcement in epoxy (KPafRE) composites. Kenaf particulate fillers of weight fractions (5–20 wt%) were used as reinforcement in the study of wear and friction performance of the composites. Adhesive dry tests were conducted on a Pin-on-Disc machine at applied loads (5–30 N) subjected to a stainless steel counterface with a sliding velocity of 2.83 m/s through sliding distances (0–6.72 km). From the findings, it was discovered that 15 wt% of KPafRE composite experienced superior in wear and frictional properties; the specific wear rate and friction coefficient was reduced by 67% and 56%, respectively, as compared to neat epoxy. Photo micrographs of the worn samples revealed that there was a significant amount of back film transfer, which assisted in enhancing the wear and frictional performance of the composites.

Interfacial Adhesion Characteristics of Kenaf Fibres Subjected to Different Polymer Matrices and Fibre Treatments

This study is aimed at determining the interfacial adhesion strength (IAS) of kenaf fibres using different chemical treatments in hydrochloric (HCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with different concentrations. Single fibre pullout tests (SFPT) were carried out for both untreated and treated fibres partially embedded into three different polymer matrices; polyester, epoxy, and polyurethane (PU) as reinforcement blocks and tested under dry loading conditions. The study revealed that kenaf fibres treated with 6% NaOH subjected to polyester, epoxy, and PU matrices exhibits excellent IAS while poor in acidic treatment. The effect of SFPT results was mainly attributed to chemical composition of the fibres, types of fibre treatments, and variation in resin viscosities. By scanning electron microscopy examination of the material failure morphology, the fibres experienced brittle and ductile fibre breakage mechanisms after treatment with acidic and alkaline solutions.