Tensile properties of kenaf fiber and corn husk flour reinforced poly(lactic acid) hybrid bio-composites: Role of aspect ratio of natural fibers

Kenaf fiber and corn husk flour were used as reinforcement in a novel biodegradable hybrid bio-composite system. It was investigated how the aspect ratios of kenaf fibers measured before and after passing through extrusion process influence the mechanical properties and the improvement of predicted values obtained by the Halpin-Tsai equation. It was found that considering of the aspect ratio of reinforcement obtained after the extrusion process, the difference between theoretical and experimental values of the tensile modulus was not significant, indicating that the aspect ratio determined after extrusion did not influence the predicted values. Therefore it was pointed out that the initial values of aspect ratio determined before extrusion can be used directly. It was also found that a scale ratio between reinforcements of different aspect ratios may play a role as a controlling factor in optimizing the mechanical properties of a hybrid bio-composite. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.