Development of coir polyester composites by e glass hybridization and assessment of drilling behavior

Abstract

Increased environmental awareness and consciousness throughout the world has developed an increasing interest in natural fibers and its applications in various fields. The aim of research is to make use of coir, a natural fiber abundantly available in India. The present work aims at studying the mechanical and drilling behaviour of green husk coir-fiber reinforced polyester composites and improvement of its mechanical properties by E-glass hybridization and NaOH treatment of coir fibers. Initially, the fiber separation process and its physical, chemical and mechanical properties were studied. The mechanical properties of the matrix material were also studied. In the case of glass hybridization, the content of weight percentage of glass fiber varied as 25, 50, 75 and 100 and their mechanical properties were evaluated for non-woven coir-glass-polyester composites. The effect of glass mat hybridization on the mechanical properties of woven coir mat was also studied for two layers and three layers stacking sequences. The alkali treated coir fiber-reinforced composites were prepared and their mechanical properties were evaluated. The effect of soaking time and concentration of NaOH were studied based on evaluated mechanical properties values. Scanning electron micrographs of fractured surfaces were studied for qualitative evaluations of the interfacial properties of composites. The determination of drilling conditions for minimum value of thrust force, torque and tool wear using Genetic algorithm has given the optimum drilling conditions for newly developed coir composites. The delamination of holes for 6mm, 8mm and 10mm diameters for the various levels of spindle speed and feed rate were measured using Machine vision system. From this study, it was observed that the delamination factor is lower in coir-polyester and coir-glass hybrid polyester composites compared with glass-polyester composites. newline newline newline