Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Dept., Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria
Aramide, F.O., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Dept., Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria; Oladele, I.O., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Dept., Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria; Folorunso, D.O., Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Dept., Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria
The possibility of utilization of the fibres made from bagass as reinforcement in polyester matrix composite was evaluated. The various composite formulations were prepared using 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, 15% and 20% bagass fibres as the reinforcement. For tensile strength, samples were prepared according to ASTM D412 and tensile strength of standard and conditioned samples was calculated, using INSTRON 1195 at a fixed crosshead speed of 10mm min-1, for microhardness, the sample was indented using Durometer following ASTM procedure No.D2240 and the reading is noted from the calibrated scale. It was observed that The UTS, Modulus of elasticity and extension to break of the polyester resin matrix composite increase with the amount of bagass fibre up to a certain threshold and then begins to reduce with further increase in the amount of bagass fibre. It was concluded that the bagass fibres are providing a reinforcement effect in polyester matrix composites and the maximum reinforcement is achieved at around 10% by weight of bagass fibre content.