Optimization of Alkali Treatment Process Parameters for Kenaf Fiber: Experiments Design
R. Sathish Kumar, Nivedhitha Durgam Muralidharan, Ravishankar Sathyamurthy
Abstract
Alkali treatment of natural fibers will improve the mechanical, chemical, and thermal characteristics of natural fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The influence of alkali treatment on the improvement of mechanical strength of natural fiber reinforced epoxy composites depends on the selection of process parameters of the treatment. In this work, the optimization of four key process parameters for alkali treatment of kenaf fiber has been studied using orthogonal array-oriented fractional factorial experimental design. The concentration of sodium hydroxide solution, process temperature, time, and fiber to solution weight ratio were the four chosen parameters and the tensile strength of the composite sample fabricated with treated kenaf fiber and epoxy resin was taken as output response. The hand layup method was used to fabricate the composite materials, and specimens were prepared for the tensile test. All samples were fabricated by ensuring the fiber weight ratio of 40%. Five samples were prepared at each experiment category, and mean values were taken for analysis. The results revealed that 6% NaOH solution, 30°C process temperature, 8 hours process time, and 1:15 fiber to solution weight ratio are identified as optimum process parameters for a tensile strength of 58.16 MPa.