TY  - JOUR
T1  - The effects of weathering on mechanical properties of kenaf unsaturated polyester composites (KFUPC).
A1  - Ab. Rashdi, Abdalla A.
LA  - English
LA  - English
PB  - RAPRA Technology
YR  - 2010
UL  - http://discoverylib.upm.edu.my/discovery/Record/oai:psasir.upm.edu.my:17629
AB  - Kenaf Fibre reinforced composites have been gaining
wide use in the variety of applications. The
performance of these composit
es may suffer when the
material is exposed to adverse environments for long
periods of time. Kenaf fibre unsaturated polyester
composites (KFUPC) were subjected to three
environmental tests: water immersion, soil buried and
natural weather tests, in order
to study the effect of
water/relative humidity absorption on the mechanical
properties of specimens containing 10, 20 and 30% by
weight of fibre content. Tensile strength and modulus
of the composites were determined. A decrease in
tensile properties of the composites was demonstrated,
showing a great loss in mechanical properties of the
humid samples compared to the dry samples. The
percentage of moisture uptake increased as the weight
percentage of fibre is increased due to the high
cellulose content. The water absorption pattern of these
composites was found to follow Fickian behavior.
ER  -