Development and Evaluation of Epoxy based Natural Fiber Composites for Lightweight and Thermal Insulation Applications
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Abstract
Globalization and urbanization are driving the ever-increasing growth of the automobile sector. When shopping for a car, consumers prioritize the safety features and fuel efficiency. Automobile production is thus highly dependent on component performance with regard to weight reduction and strength maintenance. Using a combination of natural fibers, this study aimed to create novel composite materials with improved mechanical and thermal properties, all while keeping their lightweight nature. Using a 70:30 matrix-to-fiber ratio, six different composites were created using the traditional hand layup method. These composites include epoxy/coir, epoxy/basalt, epoxy/jute, epoxy/coir/jute, epoxy/coir/basalt and epoxy/jute/basalt. A variety of mechanical and thermal tests were performed on the composites. The ideal material for thermal insulation in automobiles was determined to be an epoxy/coir composite due to its extremely low heat conduction of 0.134 W/(mK). The of properties epoxy-coir composites demonstrated by the results were, tensile strength being less than 72 MPa, flexural strength of 117 MPa and impact strength of 16.32 kJ/m2.
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