Development and Characterization of Tigernut Fibres Mixed with Nanoclay/epoxy Polymer Composites

Natural fibres have gained huge attention from researchers in the field of composite manufacturing in automotive applications due to their low cost, biodegradability, availability, and high performance. However, due to their high hydroxyl content of cellulose, natural fibres are susceptible to water absorption, which invariably affects the mechanical properties of the composite adversely. Researchers have proven that nanomaterials such as Nano silica Carbide (n-Sic) or nanoclay mixed with the polymer composites can overcome the problem. This study investigates the mechanical and microstructural properties of tiger nut fibres reinforced polymer composites tailored to the automotive application. Tiger nut fibres mixed with nanoclay to the size of 50≤μm were used to reinforce epoxy in three levels of loading 2, 4, 6% respectively. Mechanical and microstructural properties of the composites produced were examined. The results showed an increasing trend of 84, 99, 102 MPa and 110, 125, 138 MPa for tiger nut-epoxy and tiger nut-nanoclay epoxy composites, respectively, in the tensile strength. Also, an increasing trend of 80, 84, 88 BHV and 87, 94, 98 BHV were observed for tiger nut-epoxy and tiger nut-nanoclay epoxy composites, respectively, for hardness. Water absorption capacity decreases as the percentage weight fractions of the reinforcement increases but increases as the duration of immersion in boiling water increases. The microstructures showed good interfacial adhesion between reinforcement and polymer matrix when mixed with nanoclay. Tiger nut fibres show a sustainable material useful for automotive applications.