Mechanical Properties of Flax Fiber

Reinforced Composites Manufactured

Using Hand Layup and Compression
Molding—A Comparison

Vishnu Prasad, C. V. Muhammed Hunize, R. I. Abhiraj, M. A. Jospeh,

K. Sekar and Mubarak Ali

Abstract The focus of the researchers has been shifted toward natural fiber rein-
forced composites due to their biodegradability and environmental compatibility.
These composites can be made by traditional hand layup process or can be manu-
factured with the help of machines, out of which compression molding is a versatile
and efficient method. In this paper, hand layup method and compression molding
method are compared to find out the optimal process for fabrication. For optimizing
the fabrication parameters, tensile strength under various fabrication conditions was
found. The compression pressure was varied from 2 to 10 MPa, and the optimum
result was found for 4 MPa. On the other hand, 100 °C resulted in ideal proper-
ties, when the specimen was fabricated under different temperatures. Three different
volume fractions of fiber were also evaluated and 0.27% volume fraction exhibited
the optimal performance. Further, the effect of post-curing on tensile and thermal
properties was studied. The influence of various parameters in compression molding
was also investigated.

Keywords Flax fiber · Natural fiber composite material · Hand layup ·

Compression molding · Fabrication parameters · Curing

1 Introduction

Since industrial revolution, the increased strength requirements in various industries

lead to the invention of composite materials. Fiber reinforced composites are a class
of composites that are having high strength to weight ratio which made them the
most suitable option for various sectors like aerospace, automobile and construction
sectors. These composite materials consisting of high strength fibers such as carbon,
glass and aramid, and low strength polymeric matrix, have various advantages such
as high specific strength, high corrosion resistance and high specific stiffness [1].

V. Prasad (B) · C. V. Muhammed Hunize · R. I. Abhiraj · M. A. Jospeh · K. Sekar · M. Ali

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology,
Calicut 673601, Kerala, India
e-mail: vishnuprasad193@gmail.com

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 781

K. Shanker et al. (eds.), Advances in Industrial and Production Engineering, Lecture
Notes in Mechanical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6412-9_72
782 V. Prasad et al.

Unfortunately, these fibers have serious drawbacks such as (i) non-renewable, (ii)
non-recyclable, (iii) high energy consumption for production and (iv) health risks
when inhaled. Most importantly, majority of these composites being made of syn-
thetic fibers pose a serious threat to the environment, since they are non-biodegradable
in nature. The use of natural fiber reinforced composites is the solution to this prob-
lem. Natural fibers are fibers that are derived from natural sources. They may be either
directly extracted from plants or animals, or produced as a result of some geological
processes. Plant fibers such as jute, flax, coir, sisal and animal fibers such as silk,
wool, feather are examples of natural fibers. Although the strength of natural fibers is
usually far less than that of synthetic fibers, the recent studies and experiments prove
that their strength can be made comparable to or even higher than that of natural
fibers by suitable treatments [2].
Different manufacturing processes such as hand layup and compression molding
techniques were studied. Although hand layup process has different advantages such
as low cost and versatility in operation [3], it suffers from numerous limitations such
as higher production time and lower mechanical properties as compared to techniques
such as compression molding [4]. Various studies have done in the preparation of
composites reinforced with natural fibers like flax [5] and kenaf [6]. Application
of green composites in automobile body panels seems to be feasible since green
composites can match the mechanical performance of synthetic ones [7]. The use
of natural fiber reinforced composites in automobile parts was discussed in detail
by various literatures [8]. Composites made from fibers such as flax, sisal and hemp
are widely used in door cladding, floor panels and seatback linings, cotton fiber
based composites in well sound insulation and coconut fiber composites in seat
bottoms and back cushions [9]. The natural fiber reinforced composites can be a
promising solution in bioengineering and biomedical applications such as dental
implants and substitute for bone [10]. The effect of various treatments like alkali and
silane treatments were also investigated by numerous literatures [11]. A study made
to find out the effect of different treatments on the mechanical properties of kenaf
fibers shows that the tensile properties of silane treated kenaf fibers were enhanced as
compared to untreated fibers. The study further says that the tensile properties were
increased due to alkali treatment also. Influences of volume fraction of fibers on the
mechanical properties of epoxy composites were also investigated and concluded
that volume fraction between 24 and 27% will result in best properties [12].

2 Experimental

2.1 Materials Used

High quality flax fibers imported from B Comp Pvt., Switzerland was opted as
the reinforcement material. The fiber mats used were a special satin weave type of
arrangement. Epofine 556 was used as the epoxy along with Finehard-1926 hardener.
Mechanical Properties of Flax Fiber Reinforced Composites … 783

Moreover, Finelube SI 01 was used as the releasing agent. Epoxy, hardener and
releasing agent were procured from Fine finish organics Pvt. Ltd, Maharashtra, India.

2.2 Composite Preparation

Composite material was initially fabricated using hand layup method. Hand layup
was done to find out the optimal volume fraction of fibers. Three different volume
fractions for fibers were used (0.24, 0.27 and 0.30), and corresponding volumes of
epoxy and hardener were taken. The epoxy to hardener ratio selected was 100:60
in volume as recommended by the supplier. Composite lamina was fabricated in
between the glass plates and loading them with a dead weight for 24 h in room
temperature. Four layers of flax fibers were uniformly coated with epoxy resin and
placed over one by one. Glass plates were initially coated with releasing agent for
easy removal of lamina after fabrication. After completing of hand layup procedure,
the samples were subjected to two-stage curing recommended by the epoxy supplier.
The curing cycles were 80 °C for 4 h and 120 °C for 2 h. Then tensile tests were
conducted on the samples having different volume fractions, and based on the results
0.27 volume fraction was selected. Cured and non-cured samples were also prepared
to find the influence of curing on mechanical and thermal properties. To evaluate
the influence of fabrication procedure of composite materials, the tensile properties
were studied and compared by considering samples fabricated by hand layup and
compression molding technique. Samples prepared by compression molding tech-
nique were developed by placing uniformly coated flax fibers with epoxy resin in
the mold. The mold was then placed in between the plates of compression molding
machine at a certain pressure and temperature. Pressure and temperature parameters
were varied to find out the optimum condition.

2.3 Characterization

Tensile test (ASTM D3039)

The equipment used for tensile test was Shimadzu AG-X plus UTM machine. Six
samples of each case were prepared according to ASTM D3039 standard [13], and
the average value was concluded as the result. The samples were 250 mm long,
25 mm wide and 30 mm thick in dimensions. Figure 1 shows the photograph of the
equipment used in tensile testing. The head displacement was set at 0.5 mm/min for
all the samples.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
Scanning electron microscopy was performed to study the interaction between the
fiber and the matrix, in view of the fact that interfacial bonding is a critical fac-
tor which decides the mechanical strength of the composite material. Initially, the
784 V. Prasad et al.

Fig. 1 Tensile testing according to ASTM D3039

fractured surfaces of the samples were cut and gold coated uniformly for testing.
SEM was conducted with SU 6600 Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy
(FESEM) with emission current of 58 µA and acceleration voltage of 5.0 kV.
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
The thermal properties of cured and non-cured composites fabricated using hand
layup were evaluated by performing thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Thermo-
gravimetric analysis quantifies the extent and percentage of weight loss of a mate-
rial by keeping temperature or time as a function in a controlled atmosphere. The
atmosphere selected here is nitrogen and heating range from 25 to 700 °C with a
heating rate of 10 °C per min. TGA was conducted in Hitachi Thermal Analysis
System Model STA7200 following ASTM E1868 standard with a specimen weight
of 10 mg. The test is conducted to evaluate the composition of materials and gauge
the thermal stability of the sample.
Mechanical Properties of Flax Fiber Reinforced Composites … 785

3 Results and Discussion

3.1 Tensile Test

The tensile test was taken as the reference for optimizing various parameters used
during fabrication, in view of the fact that it is the basic parameter to analyze the
mechanical properties of a material. Initially, for determining the optimal volume
fraction of fibers, a range of volume fraction is selected according to various lit-
eratures. Accordingly, three volume fractions were selected (24, 27 and 30%), and
samples were prepared taking the number of layers as four. The compression molding
temperature was taken as 100 °C as a inference from visual inspection (a good flow
of the epoxy is observed at this temperature). The compression molding pressure
was taken as 4 MPa as a random value. Tensile test was conducted on the samples,
and the results showed a tensile strength of 53.90 MPa corresponding to a volume
fraction of 27%, which is the highest as compared to 49.56 MPa for 24% volume
fraction and 48.19 MPa for 30% volume fraction. Hence, 27% volume of fibers was
selected for further experiments (refer Fig. 2).
The traditional hand layup method has several disadvantages like more time con-
sumption due to the fact that it is cured in room temperature. Furthermore, many
researchers indicated lower performance of samples fabricated by hand layup as
compared to other processes such as compression molding. Hence, samples were
fabricated through compression molding and tensile test was conducted, taking the
number of layers as four and volume fraction as 27%. The compression tempera-
ture was taken as 100 °C, and samples were subjected to four different compression
pressures (2, 4, 6 and 8 MPa). The results showed a tensile strength of 65.07 MPa
corresponding to 4 MPa pressure as the highest, compared to 60.53 MPa for the
sample applied with 2 MPa pressure, 57.93 MPa for 6 MPa pressure and 53.40 MPa
for 8 MPa pressure. Thus, 4 MPa compression pressure was selected as the optimum.
This will be due to the fact that very high pressures squeeze out the epoxy out of the
composite which will eventually result in the lower performance. Figure 3 describes
Tensile strength (MPa)

65
53.9
55 49.56 48.19
45

35

25
24% 27% 30%
Volume fraction (%)

Fig. 2 Tensile strength values with various volume fraction levels

786 V. Prasad et al.

100

Tensile Strength (MPa)

80 60.53 65.07
57.93 53.4
60

40

20

0
2MPa 4MPa 6MPa 8MPa
Pressure (MPa)

Fig. 3 Tensile strength values with varying pressure values

80
Tensile strength (Mpa)

70
65.07
59.72
56.16
60

50

40

30
80°C 100°C 120°C
Temperature (°C)

Fig. 4 Tensile strength with varying temperature values

the variation in tensile strength values across few levels of compression molding
pressure parameter.
To find the effect of compression temperature, samples were fabricated under
three different temperatures. The temperatures selected were 80, 100 and 120 °C,
in view of the fact that at higher temperatures the viscosity of the epoxy reduces
resulting in the reduction of epoxy by leakage. The compression pressure was taken
as 4 MPa. The results indicated 59.72 MPa tensile strength for a temperature of 80 °C,
65.07 MPa for 100 °C and 56.16 MPa for 120 °C. Figure 4 shows the variation in
tensile strength values across different compression molding temperature values.

3.2 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

From the tensile test results, it is noted that the manufacturing process has influence
in tensile strength values. Samples prepared by compression molding technique had a
god improvement in the tensile properties. Evidence from the SEM image shows that
improvement in the tensile strength values was due to better fiber matrix interactions.
Using compression molding for composite fabrication with optimum pressure and
temperature provides better fiber and matrix interface bonding thereby improving
Mechanical Properties of Flax Fiber Reinforced Composites … 787

(a) (b)

Fig. 5 SEM images of composite samples fabricates using a hand layup b compression molding

the mechanical properties. Figure 5a and b explains about the superior bonding in
case of composite samples fabricated using compression molding techniques.

3.3 Thermogravimetric Analysis

Thermal analyses were conducted on the samples to study the composition and
thermal stability. Cured and uncured samples prepared using hand layup were studied.
The samples were cured after fabrication recommended by the epoxy manufacturer.
Two-stage curing was conducted on the samples 80 °C for 4 h and then 120 °C for
2 h. From Fig. 6, it is clear that the initial mass loss will indicate the amount of
moisture content in the sample. The major mass loss is indicated in the slope with
temperature starting from 100 to 490 °C. Though the curves show a similar track,
it can be inferred that the mass loss is dominant at temperature 380 °C, where the
weight loss for cured sample is 53.61% and for uncured sample is 61%. This shows
the curing of composites samples has a positive effect on thermal stability.

Fig. 6 Weight loss 120

percentage versus Cured
100
temperature curve from TGA Non-cured
Equivalent mass

analysis 80
60
40
20
0
0 200 400 600 800
Temperature (degree celcius )
788 V. Prasad et al.

4 Conclusions

It can be concluded that the fabrication procedure has a great influence on the mechan-
ical strength of the composites, and volume fraction contributes to the final strength
of the composite. Proper optimization of these influencing factors needs to be stud-
ied for developing a composite with better mechanical strength. The results conclude
that 42% volume fraction of fibers in composite with 4 layers of fiber has shown bet-
ter tensile strength value. The flax fiber reinforced composite samples prepared by
compression molding showed better results in tensile and hardness test.
The work has various future scopes such as exploring other types of fabrication
processes such as injection molding and vacuum bag method to find out the best
method for fabrication of natural fiber reinforced composites. Also, other parameters
such as curing time and temperature have to be further optimized for getting a finest
range of properties.

Acknowledgements The authors wish to express thanks to National Institute of Technology, Cali-
cut, India for facilitating to conduct the preparation and testing of composite samples, also TEQIP-II
for funding the project work. Authors wish to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Soney Varghese,
Associate Professor, School of Nano-Science & Technology, NIT Calicut for his support and advices
during the project.

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