Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

Volume 2013, Article ID 508179, 7 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/508179

Research Article
Mechanical Properties of Palm Fibre Reinforced Recycled HDPE

B. Aldousiri,1 M. Alajmi,2 and A. Shalwan2,3

1
Department of Power & Desalination Plants, Ministry of Electricity, Kuwait City, Kuwait
2
Mechanical Production Engineering Department, College of Technological Studies, PAAET, Kuwait City, Kuwait
3
Centre of Excellence in Engineered Fiber Composites (CEEFC), Faculty of Engineering and Surveying,
University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia

Correspondence should be addressed to A. Shalwan; abdullah.alajmi@usq.edu.au

Received 16 April 2013; Accepted 27 April 2013

Academic Editor: Belal F. Yousif

Copyright 2013 B. Aldousiri et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Recently, recycled thermoplastic polymers become an alternative resource for manufacturing industrial products. However, they
have low mechanical properties compared to the thermosets. In this paper, an attempt has been made to enhance the mechanical
properties of recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) with chopped strand mat (CSM) glass fibres as a synthetic reinforcement
and with short oil palm fibres as a biodegradable (natural) reinforcement. The effects of volume fraction of both synthetic and
natural fibres on tensile, compression, hardness, and flexural properties of the HDPE were investigated. The failure mechanism of
the composite was studied with the aid of optical microscopy. Tensile properties of the HDPE composites are greatly affected by
the weight fraction of both the synthetic and the natural fibres. The higher strength of the composites was exhibited when at higher
weight fraction of both natural and syntactic fibres which was about 50 MPa. Date palm fibre showed good interfacial adhesion
to the HDPE despite the untreated condition used. On the other hand, treatment of the fibres is recommended for higher tensile
performance of the composites.

1. Introduction attractive candidates and the usage of natural fibres to rein-

force polymer has increased dramatically. However, there are
Polymers have emerged as the material used in different still several potential fibres that have not been discovered yet.
applications. This is due to their unique and attractive Date palm fibres are available in the Middle East in huge
properties compared to the metal materials; that is, they own amounts [11, 12], and there is no much understanding of
excellent impact and abrasion resistance, high strength-to- the mechanical properties of such fibre. This motivates the
weight ratio, and high durability which fulfil the require- current work to be on the influence of the date palm fibre
ment for many designs in manufacturing components [1, 2]. on the mechanical properties of the thermoplastic materials.
However, there are several issues that limit the usage of such Beside the aforementioned, thermoplastic materials have
materials due to their need for synthetic reinforcements [3, 4]. numerous applications in different industrial and academic
Nowadays, there are regulations and carbon tax implemented sectors. Thermoplastics have the advantage of the recycla-
in several developed countries which limits the usage of bility compared to the thermoset polymers [13, 14]. High-
fossil products [5, 6]. This motivates the researchers and density polyethylene is a potential recyclable matrix which
the mechanical designers to find alternative to the synthetic showed excellent recyclability in several reported works [15,
products. Natural fibres could be one of the most useful 16].
alternative reinforcements to the synthetic fibres such as glass, In the light of the above, the combination of environ-
carbon, and Kevlar [7]. mental friendly characteristics of natural fibres and recycle
In the current decade, natural fibres such as coconut HDPE polymer in developing a biorecyclable composite will
[8], oil palm [9], bamboo [7], and sugarcane fibres [10] are be very attractive research. In the current study, the HPDE
2 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

is reinforced with date palm fibres and/or chopped glass 3. Result and Discussion
fibres. Tensile, compressive, and hardness properties of the
composites were evaluated at different weight fractions of Tensile, compressive, and hardness results are presented in
fibres and orientations. Figures 28 including samples of the micrographs of the
fractured samples. It should be mentioned here that the
tensile experiments have been conducted in one orientation
2. Materials and Experiments with respect to the fibre ends. In this orientation, the fibres
Raw mesh (natural mat) surrounding the date palm tree were parallel to the applied load. However, in the compression
stems ws collected from a date palm farm in Kuwait. The and hardness tests, the samples were tested in two fibre
fibres were separated from the meshes manually and washed orientations, that is, one parallel to the applied load and
with a tap water (2% detergent solution) to remove the another opposite.
contaminants and adhering dirt and dust. The extracted
fibres were air-dried for 48 h at room temperature. At this 3.1. Tensile Behaviour. Figure 2 shows a sample of the tensile
stage, optical microscopy was used to check the fibre and behaviour of the developed composites. From the figure,
select the desired ones. Also, the fibre diameter of 0.7 it is clear that all the composites exhibit ductile behaviour
0.05 mm was selected in order to availability, and maturity which is very desirable in the components design. It is well
of fibres at this diameter. In determining the fibre diameter, known that glass fibres are very brittle materials and always
three measurements were taken at different cross-sections are not recommended as reinforcement for composites under
in each fibre and average diameter was calculated. Then fatigue loading conditions. In the current study, it can be
the fibres were cut to the desired length and preserved in seen that the addition of the date palm fibre preserves the
polyethylene bags. In this study, the extracted fibres are ductility of the high density polyurethane despite the glass
treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for 24 h at room fibre addition in the composites. The summary of the three
temperature. Then, the fibres are rinsed with fresh water and tests of each composite is listed in Table 1. In this table, it
dried at room temperature for 24 h before preservation in can be seen that the addition of either glass fibre or the date
right polyethylene bag to reduce the moisture absorption palm fibre enhances the mechanical properties of the HDPE
until they are used. since there is a significant increase in the tensile strength of
In the current study, several composites were prepared the HDPE from 28 MP to about 50 MPa. On the other hand,
using hot press techniques. High density polyethylene rein- the addition of either fibre has slight effect on the modulus of
forced with different weight fractions of chopped strand mar elasticity (Youngs modulus, E). One can see that the addition
glass fibres and/or date palm fibres is prepared. Six types of of 6% natural fibres increases the tensile strength of HDPE
composite blocks that have to be prepared are as follows: to 38 MPa while synthetic glass fibre increases the tensile to
(1) pure HDPE, 29 MPa only. This is mainly due to the fact that glass fibre
has poor interfacial adhesion with the HDPE matrix. The
(2) HDPE with 6% chopped strand mat glass fibre (CSM), combination of both synthetic and natural fibres assists in
(3) HDPE with 6% palm fibre (OPF), increasing the tensile strength of the HDPE to the maximum
(4) HDPE with 6% PF and 2% CSM, value of 50 MPa.
The SEM observation in Figure 3 indicates that there is
(5) HDPE with 6% PF and 4% CSM,
low pull out of natural fibres since a good adhesion of the
(6) HDPE with 6% PF and 6% CSM. fibres appears. This shows the support of the natural fibres to
Schematic drawing shows the fibre orientation in the com- the matrix during the loading conditions, [7]. In other works
posites presented in Figure 1. In the preparation, unidirec- [1, 8, 24], the natural fibres like coconut should be treated
tional geometry is selected since it is the recommended with NaOH to gain good interfacial adhesion. It should be
orientation in the literature [17]. mentioned here that the natural fibres in [1, 8, 24] were
reinforced with thermosets polymers. The high strength of
thermoset compared to the thermoplastics demands high
2.1. Experimental Procedure. Mechanical properties of the interfacial adhesion to the natural fibres. This is the main
developed composites were studied considering the tensile, reason for the chemical treatments to the natural fibres when
compressive, and hardness characteristics. It is well known they are reinforced with thermosets.
that when the fibre was oriented in the direction of the tensile
applied load, the higher tensile strength can be achieved
compared to other orientations [1820]. Therefore, in the 3.2. Compressive Behaviour. The compressive experiments
tensile testing, the composites were oriented in a way where conducted in two orientations as the fibres were perpendicu-
the fibres are parallel to the direction of the applied load. On lar or parallel to the applied load (Figures 4 and 5). Figure 4
the other hand, since there is less work on the compressive shows the stress stain diagram of the typical compressive
and hardness of such composites [2123], compressive and tests for all selected composites. The figure shows a ductile
hardness tests were performed in two directions with respect behaviour for all the composites which is similar to the
to the applied load. In the horizontal direction, the applied tensile trend as shown before. However, the tensile strength
load is perpendicular to the fibre mats, and, for the parallel, of the composites seems to be much higher than the tensile
the fibre mats are parallel to the applied load. strength of the neat HDPE, that is, about 50% more than
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering 3

HDPE layer
Glass fibre layer

Natural
fibre layer

Ends of glass fibre Ends of the natural fibres

Figure 1: Schematic drawing shows the fibre orientation in the composites.

Tensile test (stress versus strain) Table 1: Ultimate tensile strength and Youngs Modulus for various
60 compositions.
50
Ultimate Youngs
Stress (MPa)

40 Type of composites tensile strength Modulus

30 UT (MPa) (MPa)
20 HDPE 28 5 350
10 HDPE + 6% CSM 29 8 200
0
HDPE + 6% DPF 38 3 330
0 5 10 15 20 HDPE + 6% DPF + 2% CSM 40 6 300
Strain (%) HDPE + 6% DPF + 4% CSM 50 7 250
HDPE HDPE + 6% DPF + 6% CSM 50 3 350
HDPE + 6% DPF
HDPE + 6% DPF + 4% CSM
HDPE + 6% CSM
HDPE + 6% DPF + 2% CSM
HDPE + 6% DPF + 6% CSM understanding the two orientations of the fibre with respect
to the compressive applied load since there is less possibility
Figure 2: Tensile stress-strain diagram at various compositions. of damage in the interface of the fibres with the matrix when
the horizontal orientation was used. Similar findings were
reported when the load was in tensile condition [20, 25].

the tensile strength in value. This can be observed with all

the composites in horizontal direction. In this direction, 3.3. Hardness Characteristics. The shore D hardness values of
the interfacial area between the fibre and the matrix is not all the selected composites at both orientations (horizontal
exposed to any shear loading as in the tensile loading which and vertical) are given in Figures 7 and 8, respectively. In
in turn reduces the possibility of detachments of pull-out of both orientations, there is no remarkable influence of both
fibres at high loads. The addition of either the natural fibre or types of fibres on the value of the HDPE hardness. Moreover,
the synthetic leads to higher compressive strength than the there is no effect of the fibre orientation on the hardness for
neat HDPE. Furthermore, the higher the amount of the fibres, all the composites. This can be explained by the fact that the
the higher the compressive strength. hardness was measured on the neat HDPE surfaces especially
When the fibre is oriented parallel to the compressive in the case of the horizontal orientations. In the case of the
load, the situation may change as can be seen in Figure 5 vertical orientation, the hardness device needle is either on
where the compressive strength reduces by about 30%40% the HDPE matrix or on the interface of the fibre with the
compared to another orientation of fibres. In the case of the HDPE since the fibres ends are very small (cf. Figure 5). There
fibre oriented parallel to the load, there is high possibility are no reported works on the hardness of the thermoplastic
of detachments and decomposition of the composites. The materials reinforced with either synthetic or natural fibres.
compressive load transfers to shear force subjected between However, there are some works on the polyester and epoxy
the fibre and the matrix along the fibre length which weakens thermoset hardness [26, 27]. In those works, the hardness of
the bonding area. Therefore, it is not recommended to use the epoxy was very high compared to the reported ones in this
this composite in such loading condition. On the contrary, work which was above 90 shore D. This is mainly due to the
horizontal orientation is the recommended one which can fact that the thermosets materials are always harder than the
bear high stress. To understand this further, a schematic thermoplastic despite the fact that HDPE is reinforced with
drawing is developed and displayed in Figure 6. This assists in thermoset fibres (glass).
4 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 3: SEM micrographs of the date palm with the HDPE matrix.

Stress versus strain Stress versus strain

compression in horizontal direction compression in horizontal direction
160 200
140
160
120
Stress (MPa)
Stress (MPa)

100 120
80
60 80
40 40
20
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Strain (%) Strain (%)

HDPE HDPE + 6% DPF

HDPE + 6% CSM HDPE + 6% DPF + 2% CSM
(a) (b)
Stress versus strain
compression in horizontal direction
240
200
Stress (MPa)

160
120
80
40
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Strain (%)
HDPE + 6% DPF + 4% CSM
HDPE + 6% DPF + 6% CSM
(c)

Figure 4: Compressive (horizontally) stress-strain diagram for various compositions.

Advances in Materials Science and Engineering 5

Stress versus strain Stress versus strain

compression in the vertical direction compression in vertical direction
120 140
100 120
100
Stress (MPa)

Stress (MPa)
80
80
60
60
40
40
20 20
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0 20 40 60 80
Strain (%) Strain (%)
HDPE HDPE + 6% DPF
HDPE + 6% CSM HDPE + 6% DPF + 2% CSM
(a) (b)
Stress versus strain
compression in vertical direction
120

100
Stress (MPa)

80

60

40

20

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Strain (%)
HDPE + 6% DPF + 4% CSM
HDPE + 6% DPF + 6% CSM
(c)

Figure 5: Compressive (vertically) stress-strain diagram for various compositions.

Applied load
HDPE Applied
HDPE
load
Fibre layer
Fibre layer

Vertical orientation Horizontal orientation

Figure 6: Schematic drawing showing the orientation of the fibres with respect to the applied load.

4. Conclusions (2) Date palm fibre showed good interfacial adhesion

to the HDPE despite the untreated condition used.
After conducting the experiments and discussing the findings However, treatment of the fibres is recommended for
of the current work, few points can be concluded as follows. higher tensile performance of the composites.
(3) Fibre orientation has very significant influence on
(1) Tensile properties of the HDPE composites are greatly compressive strength of the high density polyethylene
affected by the weight fraction of both the synthetic composites. In the case of the vertical orientation, the
and the natural fibres. The higher strength of the composites suffered from detachments and delamina-
composites was exhibited when at higher weight tion which resulted in low strength of the composites
fraction of both natural and syntactic fibres which was in this orientation. On the other hand, when the
about 50 MPa. fibres were in horizontal orientation with respect to
6 Advances in Materials Science and Engineering

Shore D hardness in the horizontal direction

HDPE + HDPE + HDPE + HDPE +
HDPE + 6% DPF +
80 HDPE
6% CGF 6% DPF + 6% DPF +
6% DPF 2% CGF
64.4 4% CGF 6% CGF
70 62.93 60.47 57.18 59 54.55

Shore hardness
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Figure 7: Shore D hardness values (horizontally) at various compositions.

Shore D hardness in the vertical direction

HDPE + HDPE + HDPE +
HDPE + HDPE +
6% DPF + 6% DPF + 6% DPF +
80 HDPE 6% CGF 6% DPF 2% CGF 4% CGF 6% CGF
70 62.87 63.75 62.93 57.98 58.67 56.42
Shore hardness

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Figure 8: Shore D hardness values (vertically) at various compositions.

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