B. Bachtiar, S. Sapuan and M. Hamdan, “The Effect of Alkaline Treatment on Tensile Properties of Sugar Palm Fibre Reinforced Epoxy Composites,” Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Malaysia, 2007.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Experimental Investigation of Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymers

  AUTHORS: Irene S. Fahim, Salah M. Elhaggar, Hatem Elayat

  KEYWORDS: Polymers-Matrix Composites (PMCs); Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP); Natural Fibers; Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

  JOURNAL NAME: Materials Sciences and Applications, Vol.3 No.2, February 17, 2012

  ABSTRACT: The potential usage of virgin Low density polyethelyne (LDPE) reinforced with different concentrations (2%, 5% and 6% by weight) of treated rice straw with different lengths (2 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm) is investigated to produce high value products that have technical and environmental demand. The two treatment methods used for rice straw are alkali and acidic treatments of rice straw. The removal of impurities and waxy substances from fiber surface avoid creation of rougher topography after treatment and improves the quality of fiber, also content of hemi cellulose and lignin decrease so increase effectiveness of fiber due to dispersing of fiber in matrix. The reinforcing material is embedded in the matrix material to enhance tensile and flexural behaviors of the synthesized composite. The result of investigating these two mechanical properties, using statistical analysis & design of experiments, showed an enhancement in the mechaniccal properties of the virgin polymer composite compared to the virgin polymer. The flexural stress of the composite increased three times the virgin flexural stress, while the tensile stress increased eight times the original tensile stress.