Effect of Bio-Fiber Waste Addition on Specifications of Epoxy Composite

Abstract

This study investigated the fabrication of composite from epoxy resin (EP) and waste short chicken feather fiber (CFF) at 5% volume fraction of fibers using hand lay-up method at room temperature. Some mechanical properties of the composite were determined including bending, shore D hardness and compressive strength. The process involved the treatment of the CFF with alkali solution, such as NaOH with 0.5 normality and then the effect of treatment on epoxy composite properties was studied. The results revealed that the addition of CFF to the epoxy resin has only a slight effect on the mechanical properties. It has shown that the values of Young modulus, compressive strength and hardness of EP/CFF composite were increased by the treatment of CFF with NaOH solution compared to pure epoxy and EP/CFF composite without treatment.