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ICMAEM-2017 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 225 (2017) 012283 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/225/1/012283
1234567890

Investigation on Mechanical Properties of Coir Fiber Reinforced

Polymer Resin Composites Saturated with Different Filling
Agents
S. Nallusamy a *, R. Suganthini Rekha b, A. Karthikeyan c
a
Professor and Dean, b Assistant Professor, c Research Scholar, Department of Mechanical
Engineering,
Dr. M G R Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, 600095, Tamilnadu, India
a
e-mail: ksnallu@gmail.com, b e-mail:rekha.mira24@gmail.com, c e-mail: karthi646@gmail.com

Abstract: The main objective of this research article is to assess the mechanical properties and
fracture analysis of bone and sea shell powders independently integrated with coir fiber polymer
composites. The specimen was fabricated with coir fiber at various dimensions of coir fiber like
diameter, length, content and mesh size of the powder. Tensile, compressive, flexural and impact
tests were conducted in the prepared composite materials as per the techniques of ASTM standard.
The fracture faces were explored with the help of SEM images. From the final results it was
concluded that the sea shell powder composite provides good tensile and flexural strength than
bone powder composite, while bone powder composite material gives good compressive and
impact strength than sea shell powder composite material.

Keywords: Composite, Mechanical Properties, Coir Fiber, Bone and Sea Shell Powder,
SEM

1. INTRODUCTION
Composite materials play an vital role in the area of engineering applications due to the ease in
making multifaceted shape of materials and their high tensile and compressive strength [1]-[3]. A
mixture of more than two materials differing in form or composition on a macro scale is called as
composite materials, which exhibits better characteristics than that of the individual material [4]-
[6]. In general, there are two phases in a composite such as reinforcing phase and matrix phase.
Reinforcing materials are used to carry the loads and material matrix is used to join and transmit
the load to fibers. In recent days the composites based on polymer are mostly utilized because of
their superior mechanical properties as compared with other composites [7], [8]. Due to extensive
appliances of polymer composites, it is very much encouraging to study on the deployment of
local cheap renewable sources of fiber and fillers available for polymer matrix composite (PMC)
manufacturing [9]-[11]. Fillers are simply increase the bulk volume which results in reduction of
price are called as extender fillers at the same time as those which enhance the mechanical
properties, mainly tensile strength are termed as reinforcing fillers. Several million metric tons of
fillers and reinforcements are used annually by the plastic industry. In plastics the usage of these
addictives is likely to rise with the introduction of improved compounding agents that permit the

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ICMAEM-2017 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 225 (2017) 012283 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/225/1/012283
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use of high filler/ reinforcement content [12], [13]. An experimental analysis was carried out on
the heat transfer of nanofluids using carbon nanotubes and the results reveals that the addition of
carbon nanotube to the E- Glass fiber composites increased the flexural properties [14]. An
analysis was carried on erosion in fibre and particulate filled PMCs with the new concepts of
strength improvement [15]. In general, particles have more strength which acts as a reinforcement
in PMCs. In these laminations, 75µm sized composite gives better results when compared to
other size of particles content composites [16]-[18]. Based on the above mentioned factors this
work was taken up to develop a coir fiber based hybrid composite using sea shell powder (SSP)
and bone powder (BP) as filling agent. The composites were prepared with different layers and
the mechanical properties of the BP mixed composite and SSP added coir fiber composite were
studied with ASTM standards and SEM.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The bone acquired from animals can be crushed up to 425µ, the collective usage of BP particles
controls crack development in plastic shrinkage at an early age. BP is very much attractive
product since it has low thermal conductivity and bulk density. The addition of BP increases the
thermal capacity of the composite specimens and yielded a light weight product. Here 100µm
particle sized BP was used to fabricate the composite. SSP is a strong material available in sea
shore. The sea shell was crushed and pulverized using ball mill and the powder was sieved and
100µm particle sized SSP was used for the development of the composite laminates. Coir fiber is
a reinforced material, a natural product available from coconut. It is generally differentiable by its
length and its diameter. The available length of the coir is normally between 10mm to 150mm
and for our experimental specimen fabrication 50mm length was chosen. Similarly, the
obtainable diameter of coir fiber is between 0.1mm to 3mm and we have selected 0.5mm
diameter for fabrication of the composite laminates. Orthothlic polyester resin was used as a
matrix, cobalt naphthanate acts as an accelerator and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKTP) acts
as a catalyst. Accelerator and catalyst were mixed with the resin, and were used to start and finish
the curing process. Polyester is widely used as matrix for fiber reinforced PMCs and also as
structural adhesives. Fiber-reinforced orthothlic polyester resin matrix composite is preferred in
load bearing frame works such as aircrafts, automotive, buildings and ships comparative to
conventional massive and uniform materials such as wood and metals because of their greater
chemical and mechanical properties and also due to their high strength to weight ratios.
Hand lay-up method was used to fabricate the composite material which is one of the well
known processes of open molding and simplest technique for fabrication of the PMCs. It is a
slow, manual and labour consuming method. The resin and the powder contents were mixed in
the % of weight ratio 70:30. The anti adhesive agent was coated on the mould to avoid sticking of
the constituent on the surface of the mould. The prime surface coating of the component was
formed when the gel coating was applied. The accelerator and catalyst were mixed with polyester
resin in proper ratio, this proportion works to bind the materials. Then the prepared powder
content was mixed with the binding materials. Coir fiber was spread over the mould. Then the
mixture of resin and powder was poured into the mould without any space. The roller was rotated
in the mould cavity. The lid was placed on the top of the mould frame which helps to distribute
the binding material in the full area of the frame and the load was uniformly applied on the

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ICMAEM-2017 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 225 (2017) 012283 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/225/1/012283
1234567890

mould. The set of connections was kept in the dry place for 24 hours. The curing product was
taken away from the mould after 24 hours. At last, the PMC was fabricated. Two types of
laminates were prepared with the below mentioned % of weight, BP and coir fiber with 15% of
weight each and polyester resin composite with 70% of weight. Similarly coir fiber and coconut
shell powder with 15% of weight each and polyester resin composite with 70% of weight were
prepared. Finally, the laminate was cut by the cutter machine in various shapes and sizes
according to the test standards.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

All the five fabricated specimens were tested individually and the results with various
mechanical properties results were obtained. The observed results of BP fiber reinforced polymer
composite (FRPC) are given in Table I. Similarly the results of SSP FRPC are given in Table II.
The average values were taken for the analysis.
3.1 Tensile Strength and Compressive Strength
The tensile strength of BP and SSP composites were compared and the results are given in Fig.
1. The average tensile strength value of BP based composite and SSP based composite was
27.464Mpa and 31.004MPa respectively and it was found that the tensile strength of the SSP
composite was better than BP composite. Similarly the compressive strength of BP and SSP
composites were calculated and the comparison results are given in Fig. 2. It was found that the
average compressive strength value of BP based composite and SSP based composite was
59.228Mpa and 55.440MPa respectively and it was found that the compressive strength of the BP
composite was better than SSP composite.
Table I. Mechanical Properties of BP FRPC
Tensile Strength Compressive Flexural Impact Strength
Specimen
(MPa) Strength (MPa) Strength (MPa) (MPa)
BP1 26.43 58.23 52.56 70.11
BP2 28.28 61.11 54.67 68.01
BP3 27.08 57.63 53.36 68.45
BP4 27.16 59.41 51.23 65.89
BP5 28.37 59.76 51.05 67.55
Average 27.464 59.228 52.574 68.002
Table II. Mechanical Properties of SSP FRPC
Tensile Strength Compressive Flexural Impact Strength
Specimen
(MPa) Strength (MPa) Strength (MPa) (MPa)
SSP1 31.32 54.37 54.34 61.12
SSP2 30.71 55.63 56.11 61.45
SSP3 32.06 53.86 55.76 62.37
SSP4 31.04 57.45 58.63 60.38
SSP5 29.89 55.89 56.03 60.45
Average 31.004 55.44 56.174 61.154

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ICMAEM-2017 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 225 (2017) 012283 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/225/1/012283
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Fig. 1 Average Values of Tensile Strength Fig. 2 Average Values of Compressive

Strength

Fig. 3 Average Values of Flexural Strength Fig. 4 Average Values of Impact Strength

3.2 Flexural Strength and Impact Strength

The flexural strength of BP and SSP composites were calculated and the comparison results are
given in Fig. 3. From the figure, it was observed that the average flex
flexural
ural strength value of BP
based and SSP based composites was 52.574Mpa and 56.174MPa respectively and it was found
that the flexural strength of the SSP composite was better than BP composite. Similarly the
impact strength of BP and SSP composites were cal
calculated
culated and shown in Fig. 4. It was found that
the average impact strength of BP based and SSP based composites was 68.002kJ/m2 and
61.154kJ/m2 respectively and it was observed that the impact strength of the BP composite was
better than SSP composite.
3.3 Characterization of Composites
The microstructure compositions of the phases present in the SSP based composite was studied
using Scanning Electron Microscope equipment. The analyzing specimen was placed over the
sample holder and the images were captured under a variety of magnifications. Microscopic layer
is composed of parallel rows of first-order lamellae and the first order lamellae in the middle

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IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 225 (2017) 012283 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/225/1/012283
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layer are oriented 90◦ to the first order lamellae in the inner and outer layers. Each first-order
lamella in turn is composed of parallel rows of second-order lamellae, which are oriented 45◦ to
the first-order lamellae. The second-order lamellae are further subdivided into third-order
lamellae. The basic building blocks are the third order lath-shaped aragonite crystals with internal
twins. In particular, in the middle layer the second-order lamellae are alternating the first-order
lamellae by 90◦ rotation. As far as the field stress is increased on the fracture specimen, a white
region appears and progressively increases in size. This whitening is an indication of tablet
sliding and inelastic deformations, with the voids left by tablet separation scattering light (this
phenomenon is similar to stress whitening associated with crazing in polymers). In the literature
dealing with fracture mechanics, such as inelastic region is referred to as the process zone. Fig. 5
to Fig. 12 shows the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of fractured surfaces of BP
based composite as well as SSP based composite after the mechanical testing.

Fig. 5 SEM Image of BP Based Composite Fig. 6 SEM Image of SSP Based Composite
After the tensile test was carried out the SEM image of BP based composite was clearly
identified and shown in Fig. 5. Similarly for SSP based composite the SEM image after tensile
test was carried out and given in Fig. 6. From the SEM images it was clearly noticed that the
composite particles and coir fiber were integrated with the PMC material. When these two
composite materials were compared, the coir fiber was pulled out in more amounts from the BP
based composite material during the tensile test hence there was a decrease in tensile strength of
the BP based composite. Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 shows the SEM images of BP and SSP based
composites after compressive test respectively. In general, bone material has more strength when
compared with sea shell. Consequently BP based composite material offers good strength in
compressive than the SSP based composite material.

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IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 225 (2017) 012283 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/225/1/012283
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Fig. 7 SEM Image of BP Based Composite Fig. 8 SEM Image of SSP Based Composite
Flexural test SEM images of BP and SSP based composite materials are illustrated in Fig. 9 and
Fig. 10 respectively. It was found that the coir fiber was pulled out from the composite material in
BP based composite after the flexural test was done, but in the composite with SSP no blow holes
were identified. Hence it was concluded that the composite with SSP provides better results over
the composite material with BP during the flexural testing.

Fig. 9 SEM Image of BP Based Composite Fig. 10 SEM Image of SSP Based Composite

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ICMAEM-2017 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 225 (2017) 012283 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/225/1/012283
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Fig. 11 SEM Image of BP Based Composite Fig. 12 SEM Image of SSP Based Composite

Similarly SEM images of BP based composite material and SSP based composite material after
impact test is illustrated in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 respectively. It was observed that the coir fiber was
pulled out from the matrix material in the SSP based composites after the impact test. In the BP
based composites, there was no pull out of fiber from the matrix and hence, fibers get expanded
and rupture. So the impact strength was high in BP based composite material compared with SSP
composite material.

4. CONCLUSION
Based on the above experimental analysis of BP and SSP added coir fiber composite material,
the following conclusions were made.
From the results it was found that the SSP filled coir fiber composite provides better results
when compared to BP filled coir fiber polyester composite when subjected to tensile and
flexural test.
Similarly it was observed that the BP filled coir fiber polyester composite provides better
results when compared to SSP filled coir fiber composite when subjected to compressive and
impact test.
The fracture surfaces were analyzed through SEM images and the same results obtained
through mechanical properties were observed.
The research may be extended through similar characteristics related to performance evaluation
of composite materials with appropriate techniques.

REFERENCES

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mechanical properties of jute fiber reinforc
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IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 225 (2017) 012283 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/225/1/012283
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[2] H. Abdellaoui, H. Bensalah, J. Echaabi, R. Bouhfid and A. Qaiss, “Fabrication,

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Dr. S. Nallusamy is currently working as Professor and Dean of Mechanical

Engineering at Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, India.
He received his B.E. (Mechanical Engineering) from Madras University, M.E.
(Industrial Engineering) from Anna University and also awarded his Ph.D from
Jadavpur University, Kolkata in the year 2009. His research interest includes
Composite Materials, Nanomaterials, TQM, Supply Chain Management etc. He
has
published around fifty Scopus indexed articles in international and national journals and nineteen
papers in conferences. Also he has published two text books of Industrial Engineering and
Management and Automobile Technology with twenty three years of teaching and research
experience.

Mrs. R. Suganthini Rekha obtained her B.E. (ECE) from Madras University
in 2003 and M.E. (Product Design and Development) from Anna University,
Chennai in 2007. Currently, she is working as an Assistant Professor in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering at Dr. M.G.R. Educational and
Research Institute, Chennai from 2012 onwards. She is doing research in the
area of manufacturing lead time reduction and composite materials.

Mr. A. Karthikeyan obtained his B.E. (Mech.) from Sri Balaji Chockalingam
Engineering College in 2010 and M.E. (Engineering Design) from St. Peter’s
University, Chennai in 2013. He is working as Assistant Professor, Dr. M.G.R.
Polytechnic College, Tamilnadu. Currently, he is engaged in research on wear
testing of different composite materials in Mechanical Engineering Department
at Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai from 2015 onwards.