Mechanical Properties and Failure Analysis of Short Kenaf Fibre Reinforced Composites Processed by Resin Casting and Vacuum Infusion Methods

Modified and unmodified short kenaf fibre reinforced epoxy composites were processed with different short fibre lengths and fibre concentrations by resin casting (RC) and vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARIM) methods. Three types of kenaf fibres were reinforced in epoxy polymer, namely, untreated kenaf fibre, mercerised and nanoclay-infused kenaf fibres. The mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural and impact properties of composites were studied. Nanoclay infused kenaf fibres have shown better tensile, flexural and impact properties than those of untreated and mercerised fibres. The composites processed by VARIM possess improved tensile and flexural properties when compared with RC composites, whereas the impact properties were better in RC composites than those of VARIM processed composites. The results showed that the mechanical properties of composites depend on the short fibre length and fibre concentration, irrespective of the processing conditions. Improved water barrier properties were also obtained in nanoclay-treated banana fibre composites