Study of Fiber-Matrix Interaction In Composites With Vegetable Fibers -

The use of vegetable fibers as reinforcing agents in polymer composites is being increased to replace synthetic fibers such as glass fibers or carbon fibers because of good mechanical properties and low density among other properties. In this work an evaluation of epoxy resin composites and vegetal fibers, whose fiber is extracted from the leaves of a plant of the Amazonian region called curauá (Ananas erectifolius), is made. The objective of this work was to study the interaction between the curauá fiber and the resin aiming at a greater bonding of the fiber in the matrix and with that increase the mechanical properties of the composite. Treatments to improve the fiber's wettability were based on sodium hydroxide by varying the concentration and the residence time of the fibers in the dissolutions. After treated fibers were observed in the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to compare the results of the treatments in relation to the separation of the fibrils and the roughness of the fiber surfaces, the results of which were then compared with the results of the tensile and micro-traction test. In order to carry out the work, a mold composed of several male and female wells with standardized dimensions according to the norms for mechanical tensile tests of polymeric matrix composites was made and constructed, and parallel longitudinal and transverse thin grooves were machined in order to place the fibers with precision. As a result of the work, the 5% sodium hydroxide dissolution was determined as the best treatment during 4 hours of immersion, whose tensile strength values were high, stating that this fiber could in the future replace the glass fiber.