Mechanical and acoustic properties of areca fiber reinforced phenol formaldehyde composites

Abstract

In this paper, mechanical and acoustic properties of natural areca fiber reinforced phenol formaldehyde composite are studied. Areca fiber composites were prepared using phenol formaldehyde with randomly distributed fibers. Strength of the composite is determined and other tests like adhesion tensile test, moisture absorption test, and biodegradable were also carried out. Acoustic tests are carried out to measure the sound transmission loss (STL) of the cured composite and compared with wood based particle board. The results show that the fully developed material has higher STL for frequencies up to 3 kHz compared to wood-based particle boards.