Study of mechanical visco elastic vibration water absorption and acoustic characteristics of abelmoschus esculentus fibre reinforced epoxy composites

Abstract

Due to their increased cost and low strength-to-weight ratio, newlinemetallic materials are no longer widely used. They are being replaced by newlinecomposite materials since they have less weight. That too, natural fibres are newlinebeing used more extensively than synthetic fibres because they are newlineeco-friendly. One such fibre is Abelmoschus esculentus commonly referred to newlineas okra fibre which is available in abundance in India and in almost all parts newlineof the world. The fruit part of it can be cooked and eaten as it is rich in newlinenutrition. It is rich in nutrients such as fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate. newlineIt also contains minerals like potassium and magnesium. Additionally, okra is newlinelow in calories and a good source of anti-oxidants. There is also a belief that it newlineimproves the thinking capacity of the human brain. The stem part of it just newlinesupports the other parts of the plant. newlineIf combined with epoxy, the fibre obtained from the stem of the okra newlineplant can be utilized to fabricate a composite material. The water-retting method newlineextracts the fibre from the trunk part of the okra plant. Different combinations of newlinecomposites are made by mixing epoxy with 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% okra newlinefibre. Due to its outstanding mechanical and electrical qualities, epoxy resin is newlineutilized as an adhesive for fibre-reinforced composites. newlineThe hand lay-up approach is used to create the composite. The newlinevarious combinations of the composite material were examined for their newlinedifferent material characteristics. The specimens were cut to size as per newlineASTM standards. Tensile strength and modulus were obtained using tensile newlinetesting equipment. The composite with 20 volume % fibre content achieved a newlinemaximum tensile strength of 27.8 MPa, which is 79% higher than the neat resin. newlineThe tensile strength of the fibres also improved by 27% as a result of the newlineimprovement in fibre-matrix interaction brought about by surface adaptation. newline newline