Abstract
Natural fibre reinforced composites (NFRC) possess the tendency of being highly
flammable in nature. The current paper investigates the effectiveness of
expandable graphite (EG) on the enhancement of the flame retardancy of palm
empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre filled diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)
thermoset epoxy composites. The EFB was treated with 5 wt% sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) to improve fibre surface adhesion with the epoxy matrix. In this research,
two approaches were employed to introduce EG with concentration ranging from
1 to 5 wt% into the epoxy composite filled with 20 wtn% of EFB. The first
approach involved infusion of a pre-mixed EG filled epoxy resin into EFB mat
during composite fabrication while the second approach considered was the
application of EG filled epoxy resin as a surface coating onto post cured EFB
epoxy composite. The flammability, thermal and mechanical properties were
studied through a series of experiments, such as the Bunsen burner test, dynamic
mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile, flexural and impact tests. The results
showed that increasing EG concentration capable of enhancing the flame
retardancy and mechanical behaviour in both approaches, with 5 wt% EG
demonstrated superior performance in fire resistant and mechanical properties
amongst other formulations.
flammable in nature. The current paper investigates the effectiveness of
expandable graphite (EG) on the enhancement of the flame retardancy of palm
empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre filled diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)
thermoset epoxy composites. The EFB was treated with 5 wt% sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) to improve fibre surface adhesion with the epoxy matrix. In this research,
two approaches were employed to introduce EG with concentration ranging from
1 to 5 wt% into the epoxy composite filled with 20 wtn% of EFB. The first
approach involved infusion of a pre-mixed EG filled epoxy resin into EFB mat
during composite fabrication while the second approach considered was the
application of EG filled epoxy resin as a surface coating onto post cured EFB
epoxy composite. The flammability, thermal and mechanical properties were
studied through a series of experiments, such as the Bunsen burner test, dynamic
mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile, flexural and impact tests. The results
showed that increasing EG concentration capable of enhancing the flame
retardancy and mechanical behaviour in both approaches, with 5 wt% EG
demonstrated superior performance in fire resistant and mechanical properties
amongst other formulations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2211-2223 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Journal of Engineering Science and Technology |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2018 |