Effect of fiber surface treatment and fiber loading on the properties of bagasse fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester composites

Bagasse fiber is a residue of a sugarcane milling process. In this research, bagasse fiber has been used as reinforcing component for unsaturated polyester resin (USP) to open up further possibilities in waste management. The chemical treatments using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and acrylic acid (AA) were carried out to modify the fiber properties. The effect of different fiber treatment and the fiber content on the composite properties were investigated. At different fiber loadings, AA treated fiber composites shows better mechanical properties compared to those of NaOH treated fiber composites. SEM investigations show that the surface modifications improve the fiber-matrix interaction. Moreover, the storage modulus of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) indicated that NaOH and AA treated fibers based composites enhance the storage modulus of the composites. From water absorption study, it was observed that the treated fiber composites show lower water absorption properties compared to those of untreated fiber based composites. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.