Synergistic effect of fiber content and length on mechanical and water absorption behaviors of Phoenix sp. fiber-reinforced epoxy composites

Phoenix sp. fiber-reinforced epoxy composites have been manufactured using compression molding technique. The effect of reinforcement volume content (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%) and size (300 µm particles, 10 mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm fibers) on quasi-static and dynamic mechanical properties was investigated. Moreover, the water absorption properties of composites were analyzed at different environmental conditions (10℃, 30℃, and 60℃). For each reinforcement size, composites loaded with 40% in volume show highest tensile and flexural properties. Furthermore, composites with 300 µm particles present the best impact properties and the lowest water absorption, regardless of the environmental condition. The dynamic mechanical properties of the composites loaded with 40% in volume were analyzed by varying the reinforcement size and the load frequency (i.e., 0.5 Hz, 1 Hz, 2 Hz, 5 Hz, and 10 Hz). It was found that the glass transition temperature of short fiber-reinforced composites is higher than that of the composite loaded with particles.