Mechanical, Morphological and Thermal Properties of Pine Needle-Reinforced Polymer Composites

In the present communication, the synthesis and characterization of pine needle (PN)-reinforced urea formaldehyde (UF) polymer matrix-based composites are being reported. These composites were prepared by compression molding technique. The composites were subjected to evaluation of mechanical properties such as tensile strength, compressive strength, flexural strength, and wear resistance. These composites have been found to possess better mechanical properties than the UF polymer matrix. These properties were found to depend on the different loadings of the pine needle, and to increase until 30% loading of pine needle. Beyond this loading the mechanical properties decrease. Morphological and thermal analysis of the UF matrix, fiber, and fiber-reinforced polymer composites have also been carried out.