Characterization of Cyrtostachys renda / kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) / multi-walled carbon nanotubes / bio-phenolic hybrid composites for aircraft tray tables

Aircraft utilize carbon fiber, glass fiber, and aramid fibers reinforced for structural parts. Their waste management has far-reaching environmental implications. This has reignited interest in green biodegradable sources. From the experimental results, leaf stalk of Cyrtostachys renda (CR) was identified as a potential reinforcement in comparison to Ptychosperma macarthurii (PM) fibers, in the polymeric composites for lightweight applications. Experimental was based on a few parameters of NaOH treatment found that 3 wt.% NaOH for an hour yields ideal effects on the CR fiber properties. The composites were prepared using a hot press machine. Mechanical, physical and flammability properties of CR fiber as reinforcement in bio-phenolic composites were analysed. Composites with 3 wt.% of NaOH CR fiber length in the ranges of 1.18- 0.6, 0.6-0.3 and less than 0.3 mm in 20 wt.% and 40 wt.% were prepared and found that, composite containing 40 wt.% fiber of length less than 0.3 mm has the highest tensile and flexural strengths. The evaluation of the influence of CR fiber and the effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on the morphology, thermal, mechanical, and flammability properties of bio-phenolic composites was performed. The presence of MWCNT in phenolic, enhanced the flexural, tensile and impact strength as much as 6.5%, 20% and 8.7% respectively compared to pristine phenolic. The addition of CR fiber, however, strengthened MWCNT filled phenolic composites, by improving the flexural, tensile and impact strength by as much as 16.7%, 45 %, and 194 %, respectively. Mechanical, thermal and flammability were performed on the effect of hybridization different hybrid Cytostachys Renda (CR) / kenaf fiber (K) (10C:0K, 7C:3K, 5C:5K, 3C:7K, 0C:10K) reinforced 0.5 wt.% MWCNT filled phenolic composites. The highest tensile and flexural properties was found for weight fraction of CR and kenaf fiber at 5C:5K (44.96 MPa) and 3C:7K (90.89 MPa) composites respectively, while the highest impact properties were obtained for 0C:10K composites (10.26 kJ/m2). The TGA, DTG and DSC results revealed that, 7C:3K composite revealed as the most thermal stability hybrid composites of CR and kenaf fiber. The highest time to ignition (TTI) and fire performance index (FPI), the lowest total heat release (THR) and average mass loss rate (MLRAVG), with the lowest fire growth rate index (FIGRA) and maximum average rate of heat emission (MARHE) index, 3C:7K composite shows the best fire-retardant performance. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach considered 3C:7K composite to be the most desirable for use as a hybrid CR/kenaf fiber modified phenolic composite. A free fall drop test was performed to analyse the performance of the aircraft tray table. Non-destructive testing such as visual examination, dye penetration, Digital Detector Array (DDA), and Computed Tomography (CT-scan) method were carried out to investigate the damage mechanism and crack length. From the results it was observed that, as the impact energy increased from 1.50 J to 3.0 J, the crack length increased. There are 3-15% difference in crack sizing between dye penetration and DDA, indicating that DDA is more accurate. The research findings provision that hybridization of CR fiber and kenaf / MWCNT / phenolic composites has the potential to be used as green and biodegradable composites for interior components of the aviation sector, particularly tray table applications.

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