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Mechanical properties of kenaf bast and core fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester

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2010 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 11 012006

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9th National Symposium on Polymeric Materials (NSPM 2009) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 11 (2010) 012006 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/11/1/012006

Mechanical properties of kenaf bast and core fibre reinforced

unsaturated polyester composites

M. R. Ishak1*, Z. Leman1*, S. M. Sapuan1, A. M. M. Edeerozey2 and I. S. Othman2

1
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka,
76109 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia

*Email: zleman@eng.upm.edu.my

Abstract. Kenaf fibre has high potential to be used for composite reinforcement in biocomposite
material. It is made up of an inner woody core and an outer fibrous bark surrounding the core. The
aim of this study was to compare the mechanical properties of short kenaf bast and core fibre
reinforced unsaturated polyester composites with varying fibre weight fraction i.e. 0%, 5%, 10%,
20%, 30% and 40%. The compression moulding technique was used to prepare the composite
specimens for tensile, flexural and impact tests in accordance to the ASTM D5083, ASTM D790
and ASTM D256 respectively. The overall results showed that the composites reinforced with
kenaf bast fibre had higher mechanical properties than kenaf core fibre composites. The results
also showed that the optimum fibre content for achieving highest tensile strength for both bast and
core fibre composites was 20%wt. It was also observed that the elongation at break for both
composites decreased as the fibre content increased. For the flexural strength, the optimum fibre
content for both composites was 10%wt while for impact strength, it was at 10%wt and 5%wt for
bast and core fibre composites respectively.

Keywords: Kenaf bast fibre, Kenaf core fibre, Mechanical properties

1. Introduction
Natural fibre reinforced polymer composites have raised great interests among material scientists and
engineers in recent years due to the need for developing an environmentally friendly material, and partly
replacing currently used glass for composite reinforcement [1]. In addition, glass fibre can cause acute
irritation of the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract. Concerns have been raised for long-term
development of lung scarring (i.e., pulmonary fibrosis) and cancer. When released, glass fibre does not
degrade and results in environmental pollutions and threatens animal life and nature significantly.
Additionally, new environmental regulations and uncertainty about petroleum and timber resources have
triggered much interest in developing composite materials from natural fibres [2]. Also, the optimum
utilization of a renewable resource will provide positive image for sustainability of ‘green’ environment
[3].
Significant research efforts have been made and currently being spent in developing natural fibre
reinforced composites. Natural fibres have advantages over synthetic or manmade fibres such as glass and


c 2010 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
9th National Symposium on Polymeric Materials (NSPM 2009) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 11 (2010) 012006 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/11/1/012006

carbon due to these reasons: low cost, low density, acceptable specific strength properties, ease of
separation, carbon dioxide sequestration and biodegradability [4].
Nowadays, door panels, seat backs, headliners, dashboards, interior parts, package trays, furniture,
packaging, building and constructions and, even the military vehicles and aircraft spare parts are made
from natural fibres [5-9]. For household’s applications, furniture composite panels are made from
chopped natural fibre that produces wood-replacement products [10].
One of the most widely used natural fibres is kenaf fibre which has been successfully incorporated in
variety of applications. Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L) is a warm season annual fibre crop closely related
to cotton and jute. Historically, kenaf has been used as a cordage crop to produce twine, rope and
sackcloth. Nowadays, there are various new applications for kenaf including paper products, building
materials, absorbents and animal feeds. Furthermore, there is a growing interest in the use of kenaf fibres
especially for composite reinforcement. This is because kenaf has good mechanical properties and can
grow quickly, rising to as height as 4-5 m in within 4-5 month growing season with the kenaf’s stalk
diameter of 25-35 mm [1]. It means that kenaf fibre composite would give the opportunity to produce
products similar to that material of wood, but it takes only 150 days to harvest. Thus, it would reduce the
demand of timber which now is facing problem of deforestration. Kenaf plant has a single, straight and
branchless stalk and made up of an inner woody core and an outer fibrous bark surrounding the core. The
kenaf comprises 35-40% bast fibre and 60-65% core fibres by weight of the kenaf’s stalk [11].  
However, there is still lack of knowledge on selecting the best properties of two main components;
bast and core fibre. Thus, the aim of this study is to compare the mechanical properties such as tensile,
flexural and impact preperties of kenaf bast and core fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites.
The results will provide vital information and serve as a benchmark to material scientists and engineers to
further develop kenaf fibre composite products.

2.0 Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials
The fibres were obtained from Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The matrix used was unsaturated polyester (UP) resin and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) as
catalyst supplied by Revertex (M) Sdn. Bhd., Johor, Malaysia.

2.2 Methods

2.2.1 Specimen Preparation and Testing

The kenaf stalks were chopped using the fibre decorticating machine. The sieve machine was used to
separate the clod of chopped kenaf bast and core fibres. The catalyst was added 2% by weight of UP resin
(2 phr of MEKP). The mixer was used to stir the matrix and the fibre with a constant frequency of 500 Hz
for 5 minutes. The neat UP and composites with varying fibre weight fractions; 5%wt, 10%wt, 20%wt,
30%wt and 40%wt were prepared with the compression moulding technique. The tensile and flexural
tests were carried out using universal testing machine, INSTRON model 5566 while impact test using
cantilever impact beam type charpy test. The tensile, flexural and impact tests were in accordance to the
ASTM D5083, ASTM D790 and ASTM D256 respectively [12-14].

3. Results and Discussion

The experimental results of tensile strength is shown in Figure 1. The general conclusion can be said that
the fibre loading significantly affects the mechanical properties of the composites. It means that the fibre
has proven its function by increasing the tensile strength of the both composites compared to neat UP. It
also can be observed that the composite of 20% fibre content showed the highest tensile strength for both
kenaf bast and core fibre composites which represents as optimal fibre content.

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9th National Symposium on Polymeric Materials (NSPM 2009) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 11 (2010) 012006 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/11/1/012006

Figure 1. Tensile strength of kenaf bast and core fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

Figure 2 shows the elongation at break of kenaf bast and core fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester
composite with varying fibre weight fractions. It can be seen clearly that the addition of both fibres
showed significant decrease of the elongation at break of the composites. It also can be seen that the
composite bast fibre had consistently higher over the core fibre.

Figure 2. Elongation at break of kenaf bast and core fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

The reason of the decrease in elongation at break of the composites was due to the lower elongation at
break of kenaf fibre compared to UP matrix. According to Bismark et al. [15], the elongation at break of
kenaf fibre is 1.6 % while and UP is 2 %. Generally, increasing the fibre content in UP led to a lower
elongation at break of its composite. In addition, as the fibre content increased to 40%, the UP was
insufficient to wet the fibre entirely and led to poor interfacial bonding between the fibre and the matrix.
When forced is applied, the composite had tendency to fail rather to elongate.
Figure 3 shows that the addition of fibre significantly affects the flexural strength of the composites. It
also can be noticed that the optimal fibre content in order to obtain the highest flexural strength for both
composites was 10%wt. 3
9th National Symposium on Polymeric Materials (NSPM 2009) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 11 (2010) 012006 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/11/1/012006

Figure 3. Flexural strength of kenaf bast and core fibre reinforced UP composites

The addition of kenaf bast and core fibres in the composite also shows significant effect to the impact
strength. The optimal value to obtain the highest impact strength for kenaf bast fibre composite was
10%wt while 5%wt for kenaf core fibre composite as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Impact strength of kenaf bast and core fibre reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

Based on the results, there is similar trend as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4 where the properties for both
composites showed steep decline beyond their optimal values. This was due to higher fibre content lead to
higher fibre to fibre contact. As a result, it led to poor interfacial bonding between the fibre and the matrix
and hence decrease in the mechanical properties. Thus, it can be said that the maximum fibre content to
allow the fibres to fully moistened by the matrix for both composites were subjected to the optimum fibre
content. This explains why beyond the optimal weight fraction, the mechanical properties for both
composites were experiencing steep decline.
There was also similar trend for all test results where kenaf bast fibre composite had consistently
higher than kenaf core fibre composites. The difference in mechanical properties between kenaf bast and
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9th National Symposium on Polymeric Materials (NSPM 2009) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 11 (2010) 012006 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/11/1/012006

core fibre composites also could be explained by observing the fibre size. As indicated in Table 2 that the
bast and core fibres have dissimilar size. According to Bismark et al. [16], the size of the fibre affects the
interfacial shear, normal stresses and fracture characteristics dramatically.

Table 2. Fibre dimensions of kenaf fibre

Kenaf fibre Length (mm) Diameter (µm) Lumen dia. (µm) Cell wall thickness (µm)

Bast fibre 2.32 ± 0.21 21.9 ± 4.6 11.9 ± 3.4 4.2 ± 0.8

Core fibre 0.74 ± 22.2 ± 4.5 13.2 ± 3.6 4.3 ± 0.7

One of the most important factors that influence the mechanical properties of the plant fibre is its
chemical composition. According to Habibi et al. [18], the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contents
were found to have a strong influence on the mechanical properties to the fibre itself. However, among
these three components, the mechanical properties of the fibres are strongly influenced by the cellulose
content. This is because cellulose is the main structural component that provides strength and stability to
the plant cell walls and the fibres [19] while Ray and Rout [20] reported that the cellulose is one of the
stiffest and strongest organic constituents in a natural fibre. It was proved by Bismark et al. [15] in his
study where the tensile properties of natural fibres increase with the increase of cellulose content of the
fibres. In general, it can be said that the higher cellulose content leads to higher mechanical properties of
the fibres. Du et al. (2008) [17] reported that kenaf bast fibre has cellulose content as high as 60.8% while
Ismawati [21] reported that cellulose content of core fibre has 50.6%.
Thus, this is the main reason of the higher tensile, flexural and impact properties of the kenaf bast fibre
composite compared to core fibre composite. Based on this study, it is worth noting that besides the low
spiral angle of the structural cellulose in plant fibre, the higher cellulose content, the smaller fibre
diameter and the longer fibre are desirable properties of natural fibre if it is to be used as reinforcement in
polymer composites. The matrix could hold the fibre firmly and increase interfacial properties of the
composite and thus increase the mechanical properties.

4. Conclusions
In a nutshell, the composites reinforced with kenaf bast fibres are found to have higher tensile, flexural
and impact properties than kenaf core fibre composites. The results showed that the optimum fibre
content to obtain the highest tensile strength and flexural strength for both kenaf bast and core fibre
composites were 20%wt. The results also showed that the optimal value to obtain the highest impact
strength for kenaf bast and core fibre composites were 10%wt and 5%wt respectively. It also has been
observed that the elongation at break for both composites decreased as the fibre content increased. It can
be concluded, the higher cellulose content, the smaller fibre diameter and the longer fibre significantly
increase the mechanical properties of the composite.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Mr. Norazman Ahmad, Mr. Yuhazri Yaakop, Mr. Pongsakorn and Mr.
Iskandar Seni for their help, Dr. Rushdan Ibrahim and Mr. Jani Saad from Forest Research Institute of
Malaysia (FRIM) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for fibre supply.

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IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 11 (2010) 012006 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/11/1/012006

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