Investigation on Hybrid Polyester Composite Comprising of Sisal and Coir as a Reinforcement and Fly Ash as Filler

Abstract

The use of lignocellulosic fibers such as coir and sisal as reinforcements in thermoplastic and thermosetting resins for developing new material having property superior than the existing one. These biofibers have several advantages, such as good strength, flexibility, low densities, low cost, and biodegradability; over synthetic fibers, these natural fibers are made hydrophobic by 8% NaOH treatment. Alkali treatment increases wettability of fibers with resin and interfacial bond strength. This paper is highlighting about the preparation of hybrid composite and testing the prepared samples for various mechanical and tribological tests such as tensile, flexural, and slurry erosion tests conducted for coir/sisal-hybrid fibers with fly ash as a filler in unsaturated polyester resin. The obtained results are further justified by the SEM images of tested samples from different mechanical tests. This material has been used for automobile application and packing material, roofing material in construction technology. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.