THE POTENTIAL OF

COATED COMPOSITE MATERIALS

AS SUBSTITUTE OF WOOD

AKMAL HAZIQ BIN MOHD SHAH

NUR FARZANA BINTI MOHD ZURAIDI

MAKTAB RENDAH SAINS MARA MERBOK

JANUARY 2016
1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Grace upon Allah the Almighty, with His blessing, our project had been done successfully
within the planned time. We are very grateful and a lot of thanks to these individual that gave us a
lot of contribution and a lot of instruction to us to finish this project with success. Dr. Mohd
Yuhazri bin Yaakob, department of Mechanical Engineering Design, Composite Technology,
Green Materials and Processing, Ballistic and Impact Engineering. He is senior lecturer in
Universiti Teknikal Melaka Malaysia (UTeM). He had given us a lot of advices and instruction
about this project. Without his responsibility and good attitude, we will not able to finish our
project in the period.
We with full pleasure converge our heartiest thanks to Tuan Haji Ahmad Nazer bin Lateh,
our beloved excellent principal of Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Merbok, Kedah for his invaluable
advice and wholehearted cooperation without which this project would not have seen the light of
the day. He had given us enough attention and contribution. Without his consistence guidance we
will not be able to finish this project.
Not to forget, we were highly indebted to our project advisor, Miss Siti Nazirah binti Abu
Bakar for her continuous support, supervision motivation throughout the tenure of our project in
spite of her hectic schedule who truly remained driving spirit in our project and her experience
gave us the light in handling research project.
Last but not least, we cant forgot to offer our sincere thanks to parents and also to our
friends who helped us to carry out this project work successful and for their support, which we
received from them from time to time. We all appreciate everything that they had tough us and
advice. Only God can repay their good deed.

CONTENT

Topic

Page

Acknowledgement

Content

ii

Abstract

iii

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Methodology

13

Chapter 4: Results and Discussion

17

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations

19

References

21

Appendix

22

ABSTRACT

THE POTENTIAL OF COMPOSITE SUBSTANCES TO INCREASE THE STRENGTH

OF PRODUCTION MATERIAL

Akmal Haziq bin Mohd Shah

Nur Farzana binti Mohd Zuraidi

Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Merbok, Kedah

Logging activities must be reduced to halt global warming issues which is getting worst day by
day. This project is a Go Green concept project which use daily waste as the main substance and
decrease the uses of wood in construction and furniture production sector at once. This will ease
consumers load in wood maintenance too.

Dry leaves, eggshells, newspapers and soil were collected and mixed together. Next, the mixture
was compressed manually and coated with epoxy resin or fiber glass. Lastly, it was dried under
sunlight for two days.

For the mentioned mixture above, 30 % of dry leaves, 30 % of eggshells, 40 % of newspapers and
5 % of soil were used. The product coated with epoxy resin can relocate load until 1334.5 N while
fiber glass coating can relocate load until 1526.3 N.

In a nutshell, the project has undefeated characteristics which are long life time without
maintenance, practical to be used in any condition, very light weight and also strong.

CATEGORY: PHYSICS

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
This project is undertaken to reduce the uses of wood in construction since nowadays trees
have been logging to produce some of the construction and furniture products. Wood has
traditionally been classified into two primary categories: hardwood (any leaf-bearing tree) and
softwood (any cone-bearing tree). As with most other general classifications, this can get
somewhat confusing due to the fact that there are some leaf-bearing trees that can have
relatively soft wood, while some coniferous trees that can have rather hard wood. Generally
speaking, however, hardwoods are by and large considered to be heavier and more dense than
softwoods.
Hardwoods are commonly used in the construction of walls, ceilings and floors, while
softwoods are often used to make doors, furniture and window frames. Some examples of the
most popular hardwoods include oak, maple, mahogany, cherry, walnut, and teak. Commonly
used softwoods include pine, hickory, beach, ash, birch, and cedar. It is an outcome solution.
As we can see wood will experience decayed after a long time have been used without any
maintenance. It will be a heavy load for consumers to maintain it. So composite materials can
be used to replace the wood. The mixture of composite substances coated with epoxy resin can
replace softwoods while fiber glass coating can replace hardwoods. It is one of the way to
stabilize our earth as logging activities has been reduced.

1.2 Problem Statement

Nowadays, our earth is getting worst because of logging activities. Woods are needed in
construction and furniture sector. This creates a lack of trees and brings environmental effect
to the world such as global warming.
According to the World Carfree Network (WCN), cars and trucks account for about 14 percent
of global carbon emissions, while most analysts attribute upwards of 15 percent to
deforestation.The reason that logging is so bad for the climate is that when trees are felled they
release the carbon they are storing into the atmosphere, where it mingles with greenhouse gases
from other sources and contributes to global warming accordingly. The upshot is that we
should be doing as much to prevent deforestation.
1.3 Objective
6

The objective of the research is to :

1. study about the optimum percentage of composite materials as substitution of wood.
2. produce substitude wood from coated composite materials.
3. test the strength of substitude wood from coated composite materials.

1.4 Scope of Study

On the study that we had carried out, we are focus on the composite materials that found in
daily life such as dry leaves, newspapers, eggshells and soil. Next, we also studied on the
potential of the composite materialsthat are coating with epoxy resin and fiber glass in
strengthens to show that composite materials are very resistant. Other than that, we want to
examine the coated composite materials using strength test.

1.5 Hypothesis
The composite materials can be stronger and influence by a few factors which is the percentage
of the dry leaves, newspapers, eggshells and soil added. In order to increase the strength of the
project, we must add all the materials according to the rates specified, 30 % of dry leaves, 30
% of eggshells, 40 % of newspapers and 5 % of soil.

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Composite Material

A composite material can be defined as a combination of a matrix and a reinforcement, which
when combined gives properties superior to the properties of the individual components. In
the case of a composite, the reinforcement is the fibers and is used to fortify the matrix in
terms of strength and stiffness.
The reinforcement fibers can be cut, aligned, placed in different ways to affect the properties
of the resulting composite. The matrix, normally a form of resin, keeps the reinforcement in
the desired orientation. It protects the reinforcement from chemical and environmental attack,
and it bonds the reinforcement so that applied loads can be effectively transferred.
The term composite can be used for a multitude of materials. Composites UK uses the term
composite, or reinforced polymers to encompass Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP)
and Glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRP). Composite can refer as Aramid products such
as Kevlar and also Bio-derrived polymers or bio composites as they are sometimes referred.
The primary reason composite materials are chosen for components is because of weight
saving for its relative stiffness and strength. For example, carbon-fiber reinforced composite
can be five times stronger than 1020 grade steel while having only one fifth of the weight.
Aluminium (6061 grade) is much nearer in weight to carbon-fiber composite, though still
somewhat heavier, but the composite can have twice the modulus and up to seven times the
strength.
As with all engineering materials, composites have particular strengths and weaknesses,
which should be considered at the specifying stage. Composites are by no means the right
material for every job.
However, a major driving force behind the development of composites has been that the
combination of the reinforcement and the matrix can be changed to meet the required final
properties of a component. For example, if the final component needs to be fire-resistant, a
fire-retardant matrix can be used in the development stage so that it has this property.
Stiffness and strength can also be influenced at the development stage. The material structure
can be engineered so that the directionality of the reinforcement material is arranged so as to
match the loading on a given component.

A wide range of coatings and paints are available to match appropriate environmental
conditions, which can be highlighted in the initial development stage or applied later should
it be decided that a particular property or standard needs to be met further down the line.
Cost is ever present in the engineering equation and it is the balance of cost, performance and
life-cycle analysis that should determine whether or not to use polymer composites over an
alternative structural material option.

2.2 Epoxy Resin

Epoxy resins, group of synthetic resins used to make plastics and adhesives. These materials
are noted for their versatility, but their relatively high cost has limited their use. High resistance
to chemicals and outstanding adhesion, durability, and toughness have made them valuable as
coatings. Because of their high electrical resistance, durability at high and low temperatures,
and the ease with which they can be poured or cast without forming bubbles, epoxy resin
plastics are especially useful for encapsulating electrical and electronic components. Epoxy
resin adhesives can be used on metals, construction materials, and most other synthetic resins.
They are strong enough to be used in place of rivets and welds in certain industrial applications.
Obviously there are many more Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) composite products
manufactured from epoxy, but mentioned were a few products that are commonly
manufactured with epoxy and with a particular manufacturing process. Additionally, the same
epoxy resin likely cannot be used for each of the mentioned processes.
Epoxies are fine tuned for the desired application and manufacturing process. For example,
pultrusion and compression molding epoxy resins are heat activated where as an infusion resin
might be ambient cure and have a lower viscosity. When compared to other traditional
thermoset or thermoplastic resins, epoxy resins have distinct advantages, including low shrink
during cure, excellent moisture resistance, excellent chemical resistance, good electrical
properties, impact resistant, no Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), increased mechanical
and fatigue strength and also long shelf life.

2.3 Fiber Glass

10

Fiberglass, or Glass Fiber, is much like Kleenex, a Thermos or a Dumpster in that a

trademarked name has become so familiar that people usually only think of one thing when
they hear it. As a Kleenex is a tissue or a Dumpster is a trash bin, Fiberglass is the fluffy, pink
insulation that lines the attics of peoples homes.
Actually, thats only a part of the story. The Owens Corning company did trademark the
widely used insulation product known as fiberglass. But, fiberglass itself has a familiar base
structure and a wide variety of uses.
Fiberglass really is made of glass, similar to windows or the drinking glasses in the kitchen.
The glass is heated until it is molten, then it is forced through superfine holes, creating glass
filaments that are very thin so thin they are better measured in microns.
Different resins may then be added to fiberglass once it is woven together to give it added
strength, as well as allow it to be molded into various shapes. Common items made of
fiberglass include swimming pools and spas, doors, surfboards, sporting equipment, boat hulls
and a wide array of exterior automobile parts. The light yet durable nature of fiberglass also
makes it ideal for more delicate applications, such as in circuit boards.
Fiberglass may be mass-produced in mats or sheets or custom-made for a specific purpose. A
new bumper or fender on an automobile, for example, may need to be custom-made to replace
a damaged area, or for the production of a new model. For this, one would create a form in
the desired shape out of foam or some other material, then layer a fiberglass coated in resin
over it. The fiberglass will harden, then can be reinforced with more layers, or reinforced from
within. But, for items like shingles, a massive sheet of a fiberglass and resin compound may
be manufactured and cut by machine.
It should be noted that fiberglass is not carbon fiber, nor is it glass-reinforced plastic, although
it is similar to both. Carbon fiber, which is made of strands of carbon, cannot be extruded into
strands as long as fiberglass, as it will break. This, among other reasons, makes fiberglass
cheaper to manufacture, although it is not as strong. Glass-reinforced plastic is what it sounds
like plastic with fiberglass embedded into it to increase strength. The similarities to
fiberglass are apparent, but a defining characteristic of fiberglass is that the glass strands are
the main component.
Although there has not been much advancement in the recycling of fiberglass items once they
have already been produced, fiberglass itself may be manufactured from recycled glass, and
is often done so. Owens Corning has reported the production of fiberglass insulation with as
much as 70% recycled glass.
2.4 Wood
11

Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other
woody plants. It has been used for thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction
material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers (which are strong in
tension) embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. Wood is sometimes
defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees or it is defined more broadly to
include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in the roots of trees or shrubs. In a living
tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by
themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients between the leaves, other growing tissues, and
the roots. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to
material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber.
The Earth contains about 434 billion cubic meters of growing stock forest, 47% of which is
commercial. As an abundant, carbon-neutral renewable resource, woody materials have been
of intense interest as a source of renewable energy. In 1991, approximately 3.5 cubic
kilometers of wood were harvested. Dominant uses were for furniture and building
construction.
It is common to classify wood as either softwood or hardwood. The wood from conifers for
example pine is called softwood, and the wood from dicotyledons which is broad-leaved trees
such as oak is called hardwood. These names are a bit misleading, as hardwoods are not
necessarily hard, and softwoods are not necessarily soft. The well-known balsa which is a
hardwood is actually softer than any commercial softwood. Conversely, some softwoods like
yew are harder than many hardwoods.
There is a strong relationship between the properties of wood and the properties of the
particular tree that yielded it. The density of wood varies with species and correlates with its
strength shown by its mechanical properties. For example, mahogany is a medium-dense
hardwood that is excellent for fine furniture crafting, whereas balsa is light-dense, making it
useful for model building while one of the densest woods is black ironwood.

12

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 3
13

METHODOLOGY

3.1

Apparatus

Substance mold
Scoop
Steel plate
Stick
Gas stove

3.2

Materials

5 g soil
30 g dry leaves
30 g eggshells
40 g newspapers
Wax
Fiber glass
Fiber mat
Epoxy resin
Hardener

3.3

Procedures
14

1. Soil, eggshells, newspapers, and dried leaves were prepared

2. Newspaper and dried leaves were cut into a small pieces

Figure 3.3.1: Dry leaves and newspapers mixture

3. 5 g of soil, 30 g of dried leaves, 30 g of eggshells and 40 g of newspapers were mixed

together
4. The mixture was compressed using manual compression method

15

Figure 3.3.2: Mixture which has been compressed

5. The compressed mixture was heated using gas stove within 10 minutes
6. The compressed mixture was coated with fiber glass or epoxy resin

Figure 3.3.3: The heated mixture

7. Lastly, the coated mixture was dried under the sunlight within two days
16

CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

17

CHAPTER 4
RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1

Results

No.
1.
2.
3.

Percentage of mixture
Soil Dried leaves Newspaper
2%
35%
20%
40%
20%
20%
5%
30%
35%

Egg shell
48%
20%
30%

Optimum/Not Optimum
Not Optimum
Not Optimum
Optimum

Table 4.1 The relationship between the percentage of mixture and

the strength of compressed composite substance.

4.2

Discussion
Based on the table above, the strength of the mixture is depends on the quantity of dry
leaves, eggshells, newspapers and soil added. 30 % dry leaves, 30 % eggshells, 40 %
newspapers and 5 % soil made the optimum strength. Meanings that data would be the
most appropriate percentage to make the mixture. Other than that, the quantity of soil also
give impact to the strength of mixture. The more soil used in the mixture the softer the
mixture will be. In addition, if soil used in the mixture is less, the less strength of the
mixture.

18

CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS
&
RECOMMENDATIONS

19

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1

Conclusions

The coated composite materials by epoxy resin and fiber glass have been successfully
made. We observed that the amount of each composite materials affect the strength of the
product. From the observation we found that the mixture of 5 g of soil, 30 g of dried
leaves, 30 g of eggshells and 40 g of newspapers give the optimum strength of the
composite product.
Last factor is the coating of the mixed composite materials. So, the best coating substance
for the composite materials is fiber glass.

5.2

Recommendations

In the future research, we will use compression machine to make it more compact and
harder. Other than that, we also try to diversify the composite materials. So, it will be easier
to make this product without any pollution.

5.3

Future Development

For the future development, we propose to make a house using the composite materials.
This house will be cooler without using any fan or air conditioner as the specific heat
capacity of wood is high. This house also more eco-friendly because it does not give any
harmful to the nature but only use daily waste materials for the composite.

20

REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/epoxy-resins.html
http://composite.about.com/od/Resins/a/Epoxy-Resin.htm
https://compositesuk.co.uk/composite-materials
http://composite.about.com/od/fibers/a/Fiberglass-What-Is-Fiberglass.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood

21

APPENDIX

1. List of abbreviations :
WCN World Carfree Network
CFRP Carbon Fiber-reinforced Polymers
GFRP Glass Fiber-reinforced Polymers
UK

United Kingdom

FRP

Fiberglass Reinforced Plastics

VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds

2. List of figures :
Figure 3.3.1

Mixed dry leaves and newspapers

Figure 3.3.2

Mixture was compressed manually

Figure 3.3.3

Coated mixture

3. List of table:
Table 4.1

The relationship between the percentage of mixture and

the strength of compressed composite substance.

22