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2019-28-0167 Published 11 Oct 2019

Experimental Investigation on Mechanical

Properties and Vibration Damping Frequency
Factor of Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite
Sathish Kumar Rajamanickam Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science

Vishnuvardhan Ravichandran Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology

Sivakumar Sattanathan, Deenadayalan Ganapathy, and Joshuva Arockia Dhanraj 

Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science

Citation: Rajamanickam, S.K., Ravichandran, V., Sattanathan, S., Ganapathy, D. et al., “Experimental Investigation on Mechanical
Properties and Vibration Damping Frequency Factor of Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite,” SAE Technical Paper
2019-28-0167, 2019, doi:10.4271/2019-28-0167.

Abstract
were categorized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).

K
enaf Fiber regarded as industrial crop for different The results indicate that the increase in the fiber content
applications. It is one of the most important plants decreases the damping vibration factor (ζ) correspondingly.
cultivated for natural fibers globally. Natural fibers The lowest value of the damping vibration factor was recorded
such as kenaf fibers are getting attention of researchers and as 0.033 for 35% weight content of Kenaf fiber in the composite.
industries to utilize it in different composites due to its biode- The maximum value of hardness, tensile, flexural, and impact
gradable nature. In this present investigation mechanical strengths were noted as 447 BHN, 45.62 MPa, 124 kN and
properties, vibration damping frequency factor and thermo- 13.2 J respectively and the effective thermal decomposition
gravimetric analysis of kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composite range was 378.64 - 442.18 °C for 35% of kenaf weight content
(KFREC) have been evaluated and reported. The tests were KFREC. From the results it is identified that the kenaf fiber
conducted with different weight categories of kenaf fiber such at 35% weight content reinforced with epoxy resin will
as 20%, 25%, 30% and 35%. The effects of fiber content on be suitable for structural application in automobiles such as
tensile, flexural, impact strengths, hardness and thermal bumper beams, door panels and front modules. In addition
decomposition properties of the composite were determined. to that the light weight nature of the kenaf fiber will help in
The failure mechanism and damage features of the KFREC achieving fuel economy in automobiles.

Introduction
composites have lower density they are also lightweight they

C
omposites are not found in nature directly but they improve fuel efficiency and also reduce emissions in automo-
are result of engineering. They are physical mixture bile applications. Natural fibers and their composites that have
of two or more material to form a composite material both environmental and economic benefits are being consid-
with combination of properties of individual material. ered for application in the automotive, building, furniture and
Manufacturing a composite with high mechanical properties packaging industries [6,7].
can be done by adding clay or fiber as reinforcement in a One of the major issue that hinders the widespread of
matrix. The commonly used synthetic fibers are glass, aramid, natural fiber reinforce composites in structural engineering
zylon and carbon. Due to the emerging concept of eco-friendly is that they have low degradation temperatures. For natural
and green-building natural fibers in composites is introduced fibers flammability is in part due to differences in composi-
[1, 2, 3, 4]. Natural fiber as reinforced composites is about to tion. These natural fibers have higher cellulose content results
replace synthetic fibers because of advantages such as renew- in higher flammability whereas higher lignin content results
ability, low-density and high specific strength and environ- in greater char formation with lower degradation temperature.
ment friendly nature. However, these natural fibers suffer from Formation of char is important as it protects the core of the
some disadvantages like low impact test, high brittleness and material and structural integrity during fire. Presence of silica
high moisture absorption properties when compared to or ash higher crystallinity and lower polymerization of fiber
synthetic fibers. Natural fibers are preferred over synthetic microstructure are other attributes that improve the thermal
fiber because the production of natural fiber has less environ- or fire performance of natural fibers reinforced epoxy compos-
mental effects than some synthetic fiber. As these natural fiber ites [8, 9, 10, 11].

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2 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND VIBRATION DAMPING FREQUENCY FACTOR

Kenaf fibers are becoming extremely popular in Malaysia age and history of the fiber. These fibers have excellent specific
as one of the most grown plant for industrial cultivation and properties and to be outstanding reinforcing fillers in plastics.
natural material that may contribute to develop environ-
mental friendly resources for automotive, food packaging,
sports and furniture industries. In the composite industry, Composite Preparation
kenaf fibers have been employed as reinforced in polymer Kenaf fibers were dried at an ambient temperature for about
matrices. Addition of kenaf fiber improves the mechanical 48h. The composite is fabricated using a stainless steel mould
properties of neat polymer [9]. Recent studies on natural fibers (100mm *100mm *10mm) which was coated with release
have investigated the development of biodegradable composite agent (WD-40). The unsaturated polyester resin (Ecmalon
materials using natural fibers such as flax, bamboo, pineapple, 4411) and hardener mixture was poured in the mould and the
silk, sisal, jute, kenaf, and ramie as a reinforcement for biode- air bubbles were removed by degassing. The composites were
gradable materials. These studies have examined moulding allowed to cure for 42h. In this work the kenaf fiber were
conditions, mechanical properties, and interfacial bonding prepared in unidirectional alignment with fiber lengths of
of their respective fibers [10, 11]. 80mm. The prepared blocks were machined into the required
Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) belongs to Malvacea dimensions for testing. The composite was prepared with fiber
family, can grow in any weather condition to a maximum weight fractions of 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% in epoxy matrix.
height of 3-5 m with a base stalk diameter of 3-5 cm within
4-5 months’ time. It is commonly cultivated in many parts of
the world like Africa, United States, India, China, Malaysia,
Indonesia and other countries of south Asia. The basic tensile Testing and
properties of kenaf fiber have been studied by many researchers
and reported that the average tensile strength of kenaf fiber Characterization of Fiber
lies between 150 MPa to 600 MPa. It is also reported that the
average tensile strain varies from 0.015 to 0.02 and the average
modulus of elasticity lies in between 12.5 GPa to 50 GPa. The Tensile Test
extensive literature review concluded that the mechanical The composite material fabricated was machined as per the
properties of the kenaf fiber varies with respect to the fiber ASTM D638 with specified dimensions. The test was carried
extraction location from the stack. The fiber at the bottom of out in Universal Testing Machine (UTM). The specimen was
the stalk generally stronger than fiber at the top of the stalk. mounted on the machine and was subjected to gradual tensile
At the same time the stress strain relationship is approxi- loading. Five specimens at each fiber weight fraction rein-
mately linear up to failure regardless of the location form forced composites were tested and the average values were
where the fibers are extracted [12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18]. reported. All the samples were ensured with dimensional
Kenaf fibers are biodegradable, nontoxic, light weight, accuracy and readings during the experimentation were
high in mechanical properties, hence it is best suitable for recorded at most care.
producing light weight as well as strong fiber reinforced
composites (FRC) for many applications, particularly auto-
mobile applications. The light weight nature, good range of Impact Test
mechanical properties, good range of thermal properties of
kenaf fibers will improve the strength of the FRC [19, 20]. The The impact test was carried out using charpy test. The fabri-
application of light weight kenaf fiber composites in automo- cated composite material was machined as per ASTM A370
bile will improve the fuel economy. In this present investiga- standard. The specimen was placed in the machine and was
tion the mechanical properties of kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy supported by a cantilever beam. All the test samples were
composite have been evaluated. Composites with fiber content notched as per the specification. The pendulum was allowed
20%, 25%, 30% and 35% of have been tested for mechanical to swing to break or fracture the specimen. The average values
properties such as tensile, impact, flexural, vibration damping found for five repetitions were reported and tabulated. The
and thermal properties and hardness. amount of energy or load needed to break or fracture the
specimen was found from the test results. These values can
be used to calculate the toughness and yield strength of the
composite material.

Materials and Methods

Flexural Test
Materials The flexural test or three-point bending test was carried on
Universal Testing Machine (UTM). The composite material
Kenaf fibers are extracted from the blast of the plant Hibiscus was machined according to the ASTM D790 standard with
cannabinus. The fibers have filament length longer than 1m. specified dimensions. Under compression load the deflection
These filaments contain individual fibers, generally 2-6 mm of the specimen was observed until the specimen breaks. The
long, which are composites of predominantly cellulose, lignin top and bottom portion of the specimen was subjected to
and hemicellulose. Individual fiber and filament properties compression and tension respectively. The center portion of
can vary depending upon the source, separation technique, the specimen was subjected to shear. The specimen breaks due
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EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND VIBRATION DAMPING FREQUENCY FACTOR 3

to the combination of bending and shear. The five specimens TABLE 2  Calculated values of vibration damping factor,
at each composite were tested and the flexural behaviour was hardness and thermogravimetric analysis for composites with
analyzed and the average values were reported. different fiber content.
Fiber Vibration Hardness Thermogravimetric
Vibration Damping Factor content (%) Damping Factor (BHN) Analysis (°C)

Measurement 20
25
0.039
0.036
432
438
371.99- 403.38
380.12-415.74
Specimens were cut into specified dimensions of 210mm x 30 0.032 442 373.47-426.39
35mm with a uniform thickness of 3mm.The specimens were 35 0.029 447 378.64-442.18
mounted in the form of a cantilever beam structure using © 2019 SAE International. All Rights Reserved.
fixtures. An accelerometer sensor was placed at the tip of
specimen at the free end, which was supplied by Dytran whose Other properties such as vibration damping factor, hardness
sensitivity of 96.72 mV/g. The output signals received from and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results have been
the accelerometer sensor were recorded in a personal computer given in Table 2. These tables show the average results of the
(PC) through a Data Acquisition (DAQ) card 9234. The PC is five repetitions of experiments conducted on each composite.
interfaced with Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation
Engineering Workshop (LabVIEW) software supplied by
National Instruments. Tensile Properties
Figure 1 shows the tensile strength of kenaf fiber reinforced
Hardness Test epoxy composite for different fiber content. Kenaf fiber
composite with 35% weight fraction shows the highest tensile
Hardness test was carried out using Brinell hardness testing strength of 45.62  MPa. Fiber composite with 20% weight
machine accordance to the standard ASTM E10. The composite fraction showed lowest value of tensile strength of 38035 MPa
material machined according to the standard specified dimen- followed by 25% and 30% which showed 40.29MPa and
sions. The specimen was placed on the anvil and the desired load 43.72MPa respectively. The tensile strength of the kenaf fiber
was applied mechanically and the indentor ball was pressed into reinforced epoxy composite was found to be increasing with
the specimen. The diameter of the impression made by the increase in fiber content of the composite. This trend is due
indentor was measured using Brinell microscope. This proce- to the high tensile strength of the kenaf fiber. Generally fiber
dure was repeated five times and the average values were reported. in the FRC is responsible for tensile strength of that composite
material, hence when the fraction of fiber content is increased,
naturally the tensile strength is also increasing.
Thermogravimetric Analysis
(TGA)
Thermogravimetric analysis was conducted using TGA
Impact Properties
machine. The specimens were machined to the dimensions The impact strength of composites is depend upon the inter-
specified by ASTM E1131 standard. Samples of approximately laminar and inter-facial adhesion between fiber and matrix.
10gms weight were subjected to pyrolysis in nitrogen environ- The values of the impact strength is plotted against the
ment to a maximum temperature of 600°C and heating rate different fiber content and given in Figure 2. It is observed
of 10°C/min. In response to increasing temperature the weight that impact strength is also increasing with increasing the
loss was recorded, with final residue yield on stress of degrada- fiber content in the composite. Kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy
tion temperature and number of degradation steps reported. composite with 35% weight fraction showed maximum impact

 FIGURE 1   Comparison of tensile strength for composites

Results and Discussion with different fiber content.

Properties such as tensile, impact and flexural strength of

kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composites were given in table 1.
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TABLE 1  Tensile strength, impact strength and flexural

strength of kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composite.
Fiber Tensile Strength Impact Flexural
content (%) (MPa) Strength (J) Strength (kN)
20 38.35 9.8 112
25 40.29 10.1 118
30 43.72 12.3 121
35 45.62 13.2 124
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4 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND VIBRATION DAMPING FREQUENCY FACTOR

 FIGURE 2   Comparison of Impact strength for composites  FIGURE 4   Comparison of vibration damping factor for
with different fiber content. composites with different fiber content.

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strength result 13.2J. The composites with 20%, 25% and 30% composition with 20% fiber content has better results in vibra-
fiber content showed impact strength of 9.8J, 10.1J and 12.3J tion damping properties. It is inferred that as we increase the
respectively. This is because of strong adhesion between the fiber content in the composite the vibration damping proper-
fiber and the epoxy matrix. ties of the composite decreases. The composite with 20% (wt)
fiber content has vibration damping factor of 0.039 and is the
highest when compared with other composites which have
Flexural Properties 0.037, 0.034, and 0.033 for 25%, 30% and 35% respectively.
The flexural strength values are reported and displayed in This is due to that the increase in fiber content in the composite
Figure 3. It is noted that the tensile properties of the kenaf intern increases the toughness of the composite and reduce
fiber reinforced epoxy composite is increasing with increasing the plasticity nature of the resin.
the fiber content in the composite. Maximum value of flexural
strength was noted for 35%wt kenaf fiber composition at
124kN. The fiber with weight fraction 20%, 25% and 30%
Thermogravimetric Properties
showed flexural strength of 112kN, 118kN and 121kN. This is The behaviour of weight loss with respect to temperature for
due to the very impressive tensile strength and modulus of the different composites are shown in Figure 5. From the
elasticity of the kenaf fiber which are in the range of 150 MPa Figure 5 it is noted that the composite with 20% of fiber
to 600 MPa and 12.5 GPa to 50 GPa respectively. Therefore content loses weight at very low temperatures at 371.99°C -
the increase in fiber content increases the flexural strength. 403.38°C, 25%, 30%, and 35% starts losing weight at 336°C -
661°C, 321°C - 721°C and 378.64°C - 442.18°C respectively.
The percentage of weight reduction at 500°C reflects to the
Vibration Damping Properties amount of residue left after degraded. Epoxy resin has the
The vibration damping factor for different composites are lowest residue due to the absence of char.
given in Figure 4. From the Figure 4 it is noted that the fiber

 FIGURE 3   Comparison of Flexural strength for composites

 FIGURE 5   Comparison of thermogravimetric analysis
with different fiber content. (TGA) between composites with different fiber content %.
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EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND VIBRATION DAMPING FREQUENCY FACTOR 5

Hardness  FIGURE 7(b)   Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

image of Kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composite
Figure 6 shows the results of hardness properties of the kenaf having Agglomeration.
fiber reinforced epoxy composite. It is seen that hardness of
the composite increases with increasing the weight fraction
of kenaf fiber in the composite. The hardness values of 20%,
25%, 30% and 35%wt kenaf are 112BHN, 118BHN, 121BHN
and 124BHN respectively. The hardness of kenaf fiber are
lower than that of synthetic fibers and steel. This is because
of low density and very long fiber length.

Microstructure

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Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images are taken to
study the surface morphology of the kenaf fiber reinforced
epoxy composite. In Figure 7(a) the air voids are visible which
is caused during the perpetration of composites. In Figure 7(b)
agglomeration is clearly visible, agglomeration are collective

 FIGURE 6   Comparison of hardness values between

composites with different fiber content %.
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stacking of fibers in one place. Both air voids and agglomera-

tion contribute to reduce the mechanical properties of the
kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composite.

Conclusions
Automobile industries are growing rapidly, so there is a critical
issue of recycling the plastic materials used in the automobiles.
Due to this reason automobile industries are preferring
composites with nature fibers reinforcement. Comparing to
 FIGURE 7(a)   Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image glass fiber nature fiber having good in strength and physical
of Kenaf fiber reinforced epoxy composite having air void. properties. Traditional fiber like kenaf having an advantage
to meet some new requirements and full fill the automobile
structure. In this experimental study, the mechanical, thermal
and vibration damping properties of kenaf fiber reinforced
composite were tested and the following conclusions
were obtained.
•• The kenaf fiber content of 35% having a good tensile
strength of 45.62MPa with the impact strength of 13.2J
and flexural strength of 124 KN and will be more
suitable for automobile structural applications.
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•• Mechanical properties such as flexural strength, impact

strength, tensile strength, hardness of kenaf fiber
reinforced epoxy composite is found to be increasing
with increasing fiber content.
•• The thermogravimetric analysis showed that as
composites with lower fiber content starts losing weight
at low temperatures when compared with composites
with high fiber content.
•• The vibration damping property also improves with
increasing fiber content.
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6 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND VIBRATION DAMPING FREQUENCY FACTOR

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