Luffa acutangula and Pithecellobium dulce in the production of composite cladding core panels using vinyl ester as coupling agent

Abstract

Not all agricultural produce becomes useful in food consumption; most of these become wastes, which therefore causes direct economic loss to farmers. Natural fibers such as Luffa Acutangula (L.A.) and Pithecellobium Dulce (P.D.) can reinforce structural applications in the fiber-polymer composite. The physical and mechanical properties of PD+LA fibers reinforced with vinyl ester were examined at varying volume fractions to determine the optimal conditions. The study found that the natural fiber composite was optimized at a volume fraction of 25PD+5LA by weight. The optimized volume fraction of composite has an average density of 0.9527 g/cm3, a water absorption of 0.62%, a lowest average temperature of 37.51 °C, a modulus of elasticity of 4.20 GPa, an internal bond of 56.04 MPa, and flexural strength of 53.73 MPa. The results obtained in them optimized result were evaluated in comparison to ANSI (American National Standards Institute) specifications for basic service hardboard. Based on the findings, the optimum natural fiber composite showed significant potential for structural engineering materials applications.