VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

BELAGAVI–590018

PROJECT REPORT
on

“Effects of Alkaline Treatment on Mechanical

Properties of Flax and Tamarind Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Composites”
A Project Report submitted to Visvesvaraya Technological University during
the year 2024-25 in the partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
in
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
by
INCHARA D. 4RA21ME004
BHARATH M. R. 4RA22ME400
YASHAS N. C. 4RA22ME416

Under the guidance of

Dr. ANAND H. R.
Assistant Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering

RAJEEV INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
HASSAN– 573201
2024-2025
 RAJEEV INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Hassan–573201

Department of Mechanical Engineering

CERTIFICATE

Certified that the Project entitled “Effects of Alkaline Treatment on Mechanical

Properties of Flax and Tamarind Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites” is carried
out by Ms. INCHARA D., Mr. BHARATH M. R. & Mr. YASHAS N. C., bearing
university seat number’s 4RA21ME004, 4RA22ME400 and 4RA22ME416, are
bonafide students of Rajeev Institute of Technology, Hassan in partial fulfilment
for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering of the
Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi during the year 2024-2025. The
Project Report has been approved as it satisfies the academic requirements in respect
of Project prescribed for the said degree.

________________________
Dr. ANAND H. R.
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

_______________________ __________________________
Dr. KULDEEP B. Dr. MAHESH P. K.
Associate Professor & Head Principal
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

Examiners Name: Signature with Date:

1. __________________________ __________________________
2. __________________________ ___________________________
 ABSTRACT
Natural Fiber-based hybrid composites are gaining attention as sustainable alternatives to
synthetic materials due to their mechanical and physical properties. This study investigates
the tensile, impact, hardness, dielectric, and water absorption properties of flax and
tamarind Fiber-based hybrid composites in treated and untreated conditions. Composites
were fabricated using varying proportions of flax and tamarind Fibers via the hand lay-up
technique and subjected to extensive testing.

In tensile tests, untreated flax composites achieved the highest tensile strength 59.9 N/mm²,
outperforming hybrid composites due to superior cellulose content. Treated composites
showed reduced tensile strength, with EFT2 reaching 21.6 N/mm², as alkali treatment
altered fiber microstructure.

Impact tests revealed that untreated flax composites exhibited the highest impact resistance
99 J/m, while treated EFT2 composites achieved improved performance 58 J/m due to
enhanced fiber-matrix bonding, despite brittleness from alkali treatment.

Hardness testing indicated EFT2 composites had the highest Shore D hardness 62,
benefiting from 10% tamarind fiber’s improved load distribution and material density.
Treated composites exhibited slightly lower hardness due to reduced stiffness.

Dielectric testing showed untreated composites had better insulation, with EFT2 achieving
the highest dielectric strength 3.5 kV/mm due to optimized material distribution and lignin
content. Treated composites had lower values due to increased conductivity from alkali
treatment.

Water absorption tests found untreated composites absorbed more moisture, especially in
distilled water, due to their hydrophilic nature, while treated composites showed reduced
water uptake, with EFT2 exhibiting superior hydrophobicity and moisture resistance.

This comprehensive evaluation highlights untreated composites’ superior mechanical

performance and treated composites’ enhanced durability and water resistance for diverse
applications.

i
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Apart from the efforts of us, the success of this Project depends largely on the
encouragement and guidelines of many. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude
to the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this Project.

We express immense gratitude to our guide Dr. Anand H. R., Assistant Professor and
Project Coordinator, Department of Mechanical Engineering, RIT, Hassan for having
extended his priceless technical expertise. We also thank him for his patient thoughtful
guidance and also for his most generous support and encouragement towards the
development of the Project.

We express our sincere thanks to Dr. Kuldeep B., Associate Professor and Head,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, RIT, Hassan for his valuable encouragement and
support in carrying out the Project by providing all the facilities.

We convey our gratitude to Dr. Mahesh P. K., Principal, RIT, Hassan for his kind
encouragement.

We would like to thank our Parents and Friends for their constant encouragement in
carrying out this Project.

INCHARA D. [4RA21ME004]

BHARATH M. R. [4RA22ME400]

YASHAS N. C. [4RA22ME416]

ii
 DECLARATION

We, Ms. INCHARA D., Mr. BHARATH M. R., and Mr. YASHA N. C., bearing
University Seat Number’s 4RA21ME004, 4RA22ME400 and 4RA22ME4016, student’s,
Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, hereby declare that this Project
entitled has been carried out by us under the guidance of by “EFFECTS OF ALKALINE
TREATMENT ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FLAX AND TAMARIND
FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES” has been carried out by us under the
guidance of Dr. Anand H. R., Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Rajeev Institute of Technology, Hassan for partial fulfillment of the degree of
Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering of Visvesvaraya Technological
University, Belagavi. We also declare that we have not submitted this Project to any other
university for the award of any degree.

Date:

Place: Hassan

INCHARA D. [4RA21ME004]

BHARATH M. R. [4RA22ME400]

YASHAS N. C. [4RA22ME416]

iii
 CONTENTS

Title Page
Certificate
Abstract ⅰ
Acknowledgement ⅱ
Declaration ⅲ
Contents ⅳ-ⅵ
List of Figures ⅶ-iv

List of Table iv
Abbreviation iv

Chapters
1. Introduction 1-14

1.1 Composite Materials 1-2

1.2 Definition of Composite 3

1.2.1 There are Two Categories of Constituent Materials 3

1.3 Classification of Composite Material 4

1.3.1 Based on Matrix Phase 4-5

1.3.2 Based on Reinforced Composite 5-7

1.4 Reinforced Composites 7

1.4.1 Applications of Reinforced Composites 7

1.4.2 Advantages of Reinforced Composite 8

1.5 Natural Fiber Composites 8

1.5.1 Constituents of Natural Reinforced Composite 8

1.5.2 Classification of Natural Fibers 8

1.5.3 Reason for Natural Composites 9

iv
 1.6 Manufacturing Process of Composite Material 9

1.6.1 Hand-Lay-up Process 10

1.6.2 Spray up Process 10-11

1.6.3 Vacuum-Bag Auto Clave Process 11

1.6.4 Compression Moulding 12

1.6.5 Injection Moulding 12-13

1.6.6 Sheet Moulding Compound Process 13-14

1.6.7 Continuous Pultrusion Process 14

2. Literature Review 15-19

2.1 Summary of the Literature Review 19

3. Problem Formulation 20

3.1 Problem Formulation 20

3.2 Objectives 20

4. Methodology 21-27

4.1 Material Selection 21

4.1.1 Flax Fiber 22

4.1.2 Tamarind Fiber 23

4.1.3 Epoxy Resin 24

4.1.4 Hardener 25

4.2 Preparation of Composites 26

4.3 Rule of Mixture 26-27

4.4 Composite Designation 27

4.5 Fabrication by Hand Lay-Up Method 27

5. Experiments 28-33

5.1 Tensile Test 28- 29

5.2 Impact Test 30

v
 5.3 Hardness Test 31

5.4 Dielectric Test 32

5.5 Water Absorption Test 33

6 Result and Discussion 34

6.1 Tensile Test 34-35

6.2 Impact Test 35-36

6.3 Hardness Test 36-37

6.4 Dielectric Strength Analysis 37-38

6.5 Water Absorption Test 38-41

Conclusion 42

Future Scope 43

References 44-45

vi
 LIST OF FIGURES
Fig No. Particulars Page No.

1.1 Classification of Composite Material 4

1.2 Hand-Lay-Up Process 10

1.3 Spray Up Process 10

1.4 Vacuum-Bag Auto Clave Process 11

1.5 Compression Moulding 12

1.6 Injection Moulding 13

1.7 Sheet Moulding Compound Process 13

1.8 Continuous Pultrusion Process 14

4.1 Methodology 21

4.2 Flax Fiber 22

4.3 Tamarind Fiber 23

4.4 Chopped Tamarind Fiber 23

4.5 Epoxy Resin 24

4.6 Hardner 25

4.7 Aluminium Mould Plate 26

4.8 Fabricated Composite Material 27

5.1 UTM for Tensile Test 29

5.2 Schematic Diagram of Tensile Test Specimen 29

5.3 Equipment for Tensile Impact Strength 30

5.4 Schematic Diagram of Impact Test Specimen 30

5.5 Shore D Tester 31

vii
5.6 Dielectric Strength Tester 32

6.1 Tensile Properties of Treated and Untreated Composites 34

6.2 Impact Strength of Treated and Untreated Composites 35

6.3 Shore D Hardness of Treated and Untreated Composites 36

6.4 Dielectric Strength of Treated and Untreated Composites 37

6.5 Water Absorption in Untreated Composite 38

6.6 Water Absorption in Treated Composite 39

viii
 LIST OF TABLES
Table no Particular Page no

4.1 Properties of Flax Fiber 22

4.1 Properties of Tamarind Fiber 23

4.3 Properties of Epoxy Resin 24

4.4 Properties of Hardener 25

4.5 Composition and Designation of Composites 27

5.1 Dimension of Laminates According to ASTM Standards 28

ix
 ABBREVIATIONS

EF : Epoxy Flax

EFT1 : Epoxy Flax and Tamarind(5%)

EFT2 : Epoxy Flax and Tamarind(10%)

MMC : Metal Matrix Composite

TEF : Treated Epoxy and Flax Fiber Composite

UEFT1 Untreated Epoxy Flax Fiber and 5% Tamarind

:
Fiber Composite

TEFT1 Treated Epoxy Flax Fiber and 5% Tamarind Fiber

:
Composite

UEFT2 Untreated Epoxy Flax Fiber and 10% Tamarind

:
Fiber Composite

TEFT2 Treated Epoxy Flax Fiber and 10% Tamarind

:
Fiber Composite

NaOH : Sodium Hydroxide

UTM : Universal Testing Machine