Effects of Aspect Ratio and Loading on the Mechanical Properties of Prosopis juliflora Fibre-reinforced Phenol Formaldehyde Composites.

In this paper, an attempt was made to use Prosopis juliflora fibres (PJFs) as a reinforcing agent for phenol formaldehyde (PF) composites. Mechanical properties of the composites were studied for various fibre aspect ratios (FAR) and fibre loadings (FL). A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to study the fractured surface of the composites. The peak range of mechanical properties was identified for composites with a FAR of 136 and fibre loading of 23.53 wt%. This study shows that the optimum FAR and fibre loading for PJFs were found to be 136 and 23.53 wt% in order to achieve good reinforcement with better mechanical properties in the PF resin matrix. Experimental results were observed to be in very good agreement with the theoretical [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]