MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF PINEAPPLE LEAF FIBRE REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES AT DIFFERENT ORIENTATIONS.

This paper aims to fabricate pineapple leaf fibre epoxy reinforced with three different orientations which are unidirectional, bidirectional and inclined 45°. E-glass fibre is also introduced in every orientation to observe the change in strength. Fabrication of all these epoxies reinforced pine apple fibre is being done by Hand Layup technique. Two tests are done on these composites that are Tensile Test and Flexural Test. The tensile strength of unidirectional oriented fibre is increased when the E-glass is introduced with composites. The tensile property of unidirectional fibre is reinforced when the E-glass is brought together with composites. The maximum tensile strength was observed in the E-glass unidirectional pineapple fibre composite. Optimum Flexural strength is observed for inclined 45° specimen without E-glass reinforcement, whereas with the introduction of E-glass unidirectional composite maximum flexural strength is yielded. From the results, it can be proposed that Pineapple Leaf Fibre (PALF) reinforced with epoxy and E-glass showed best characteristics for unidirectional orientation of fibre for tensile and in flexural loading. Based on the results obtained, this pineapple composite material is recommended to use for lightweight packaging applications like food industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]