SUPERVISOR DECLARATION
“I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my opinion this report is
sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the award of the degree of Bachelor of
Mechanical Engineering (Structure and Materials)”
Signature : ………………………….
Supervisor I : ………………………….
Date : ………………………….
Signature : ………………………….
Supervisor II : ………………………….
Date : ………………………….
TENSILE PROPERTIES OF OIL PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH (OPEFB) FIBER
REINFORCED POLYPROPYLENE (PP)/ POLY(LACTIC-ACID) (PLA) COMPOSITES
ZAILINDA BINTI ABDULLAH
Project submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for Bachelor Degree of Mechanical
Engineering (Structure & Materials)
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka
MEI 2011
ii
DECLARATION
“I hereby declare that the work in this report is my own except for summaries and
quotations which have been duly acknowledged.”
Signature : …………………………..
Author : …………………………..
Date : …………………………..
iii
Specially dedicated to my beloved father Hj Abdullah Bin Yahya and beloved
mother Hjh Zainab Hong Binti Abdullah, brothers and sisters, to all family members,
lecturers and friends.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author thanks to Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) formerly
known as Kolej Universiti Teknikal Kebangsaan Malaysia (KUTKM), Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering for giving the opportunity to do this research for final year
student. Huge thanks to Mr Mohd Nur Azmi Bin Nordin as the author’s supervisor
for his guiding and advice to finish this research.
Last but not least, warmest gratitude to anyone who gives their continuing
encouragement, support, and advice in finishing this research.
v
ABSTRACT
This research is dedicated to the study of the tensile properties of oil palm
empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber reinforced polypropylene (PP) and poly (lactic-acid)
(PLA) composites. From the previous study, the investigation on tensile
characteristic was done by using biodegradable polymers poly (lactic-acid) (PLA)
on oil palm fiber in chopped random form. In this research the particle size of
OPEFB was used in range size, 0.25mm to 0.063mm reinforced the PP and PLA.
There are two major types of specimens which are differ in the composition. First
type of specimens contain 10wt% of OPEFB loading with different particle size
0.063mm and 0.25mm labeled as OPEFB0.063-PP/PLA and OPEFB0.25-PP/PLA
respectively. For this type of specimens were prepared by using method B. Second
type of specimens contain 0.25mm OPEFB particle size with different fibre loading,
20wt% and 30wt% labelled as OPEFB20%-PP/PLA and OPEFB30%-PP/PLA
respectively. For this type of specimens was prepared by using method A. In order to
investigate the tensile characteristic of the composites tensile test was carried out for
each specimen respectively. From the result, for 10wt% of fibre loading obtain
22.36MPa of tensile strength for OPEFB0.25-PP/PLA that is 52% higher than
OPEFB0.063-PP/PLA that is 10.73MPa of tensile strength. For 0.25mm OPEFB
particle size obtain 19.54MPa of tensile strength for OPEFB20%-PP/PLA that is 14.1%
higher than OPEFB30%-PP/PLA obtain 16.82MPa of tensile strength. This result
influenced by the porosity occur in the composites that was proved by doing liquid
immersion test. Hardness test also was carried out to investigate the hardness
properties.
vi
ABSTRAK
Penyelidikan ini mengkaji tentang sifat-sifat ketegangan tehadap gentian
kelapa sawit diperkuat dengan Polypropylene (PP) dan Poly (lactic-acid) (PLA)
komposit. Daripada kajian ilmiah kajian terhadap ciri-ciri ketegangan terhadap
gentian kelapa sawit dalam bentuk gentian pendek diperkuat dengan Poly (lactic-acid)
(PLA) telah dilakukan. Dalam penyelidikan ini akan mengkaji tentang sifat
ketegangan gentian kelapa sawit OPEFB dalam bentuk sebuk dalam ukurun antara
0.25mm kepada 0.063mm diperkuat oleh PP and PLA. Terdapat 2 jenis spesimen
utama yang berbeza komposisi digunakan dalam kajian ini. Jenis spesimen pertama
mengandungi 10wt% OPEFB dengan saiz OPEFB yang berbeza yang dinamakan
OPEFB0.063-PP/PLA dan OPEFB0.25-PP/PLA masing-masing. Bagi jenis
spesimen ini disediakan dengan menggunakan Kaedah B. Jenis spesimen kedua
mengandungi 0.25mm OPEFB saiz fibre dengan perbezaan wt% fibre loading that
are 20wt% and 30wt% yang dinamakan OPEFB20%-PP/PLA dan OPEFB30%-
PP/PLA masing-masing. Untuk jenis spesimen ini disediakan dengan menggunakan
kaedah A. Mesin ujian tegangan digunakan bagi mengkaji cirri-ciri tarikan komposit.
Spesimen yang dihasilkan akan diuji dengan mesin ujian tegangan untuk mengkaji
cirri-ciri tarikan pada kompsit. Berdasarkan keputusan, komposisi 10wt% OPEFB
iaitu OPEFB0.25-PP/PLA memperoleh 22.35MPa daya tarikan iaitu 52% lebih tinggi
berbanding OPEFB0.063-PP/PLA iaitu 10.73MPa. Manakala untuk komposis
0.25mm OPEFB, OPEFB20%-PP/PLA memperoleh 19.54MPa daya tarikan iaitu
14.1% lebih tinggi berbanding OPEFB30%-PP/PLA iaitu 16.82MPa daya tarikan.
Keputusan daya tarikan ini dipengaruhi oleh liang yang terdapat di dalam komposit
yang telah dibuktikan melaui kajian kadar serap cecair. Ujian kekerasan juga turut
dilakukan untuk mengkaji sifat kekerasan komposit.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER TITTLE PAGE
DECLARATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
ABSTRAK vi
TABLE OF CONTENT vii
LIST OF TABLES x
LIST OF FIGURES xii
LIST OF SYMBOL xv
LIST OF APPENDICES xvi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background Research 1
1.2 Objectives 5
1.3 Problem Statement 5
1.4 Scope 5
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 6
2.1 Introduction 6
2.2 Composite 6
2.2.1 Polymer Matrix Composite 7
2.3 Matrix 8
viii
2.3.1 Polypropylene 8
2.3.2 Poly(Lactic-Acid)(PLA) 9
2.4 Reinforcement 9
2.4.1 Natural Fibre 10
2.4.2 Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) 11
2.5 Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Treatment 14
2.6 Natural Fibre Polymer Composite 15
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY 20
3.1 Introduction 20
3.2 Materials 21
3.3 Specimen Preparation 22
3.3.1 Preparation for Neat PP/PLA Specimen 22
3.3.2 Preparation for OPEFB Particle Size 25
3.3.3 Preparation for 10wt% OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite 26
3.3.4 Preparation for 0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite 28
3.4 Experiment Test 29
3.4.1 Tensile Test 29
3.4.2 Hardness Test 30
3.4.3 Water absorption and Liquid Immersion Test 30
CHAPTER IV RESULT 32
4.1 Introduction 32
4.2 Tensile Test Results 32
4.2.1 Tensile Test Result for Neat PP/PLA Specimen 33
4.2.2 Tensile Test Result for 10wt% 37
OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite
4.2.3 Tensile Test for 0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA 39
Composite
4.3 Hardness Test Results 41
4.3.1 Hardness Test Results for Neat PP/PLA Specimen 42
4.3.2 Hardness Test Results for 10wt% 42
ix
OPEFB-PP/PLA Specimen
4.3.3 Hardness Test Results for 0.25mm 43
OPEFB-PP/PLA Specimen
4.4 Water Absorption and Liquid Immersion Test Result 44
4.4.1 Water Absorption And Liquid Immersion Test 45
Result For 10wt% OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite
4.4.2 Water Absorption And Liquid Immersion Test 45
Result For 0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite
4.5 Observation of Specimen Preparation 45
CHAPTER V DISCUSSION 48
5.1 Introduction 48
5.2 Tensile Strength 48
5.3 Hardness Test 52
5.4 Water Absorption and Liquid Immersion Test 55
5.5 Problem 57
CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 58
6.1 Introduction 58
6.2 Conclusion 58
6.3 Recommendations 59
REFERENCES 60
BIBLIOGRAFHY 65
APPENDICES 66
x
LIST OF TABLES
BIL. TITTLE PAGE
1.1 Tensile Properties of Single Natural Fibre [2] 4
2.1 Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Fibre 11
(OPEFB)[14]
2.2 Standard percentage of fibre length [13] 13
2.3 Tensile Properties of the PLA based composite [24] 19
3.1 Composition for PP/PLA 22
3.2 Composition for 10wt% OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite 27
3.3 Composition for 0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite 28
4.1 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Neat PP/PLA0% 33
Specimen
4.2 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Neat PP/PLA 3% 34
Specimen
4.3 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Neat PP/PLA 5% 34
Specimen
4.4 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Neat PP/PLA 10% 35
Specimen
4.5 Tensile Strength and Modulus of Neat PP/PLA 36
4.6 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Neat PP/PLA 37
4.7 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Specimen 38
OPEFB0.063-PP/PLA
4.8 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Specimen 39
OPEFB0.025-PP/PLA
4.9 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Specimen 40
OPEFB20%-PP/PLA
xi
4.10 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus of Specimen 41
OPEFB30%-PP/PLA
4.11 Hardness Scale for Neat PP/PLA 42
4.12 Hardness Scale for OPEFB0.063-PP/PLA 42
4.13 Hardness Scale for OPEFB0.25-PP/PLA 43
4.14 Hardness Scale for OPEFB20%-PP/PLA 43
4.15 Hardness Scale for OPEFB30%-PP/PLA 44
4.16 Water Absorption 10wt% OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite 45
4.17 Liquid Immersion (kerosene) 10wt% OPEFB-PP/PLA 45
Composite
4.18 Water Absorption 0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA Composite 45
4.19 Liquid Immersion (kerosene) 0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA 45
Composite
5.1 Tensile Strength for 10wt% OPEFB-PP/PLA Neat PP/PLA 49
5.2 Tensile Strength for 0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA Neat PP/PLA 50
5.3 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus for 10wt% 51
OPEFB-PP/PLA and Neat PP/PLA
5.4 Tensile Strength, Strain and Modulus for 0.25mm 52
OPEFB-PP/PLA and Neat PP/PLA 5.5
5.5 Hardness Scale and Tensile Strength for 10wt% 53
OPEFB-PP/PLA and Neat PP/PLA
5.6 Hardness Scale and Tensile Strength for 0.25mm 55
OPEFB-PP/PLA and Neat PP/PLA
5.7 Strength(MPa) and Liquid Immersion (%) for 10wt% 56
` OPEFB-PP/PLA
5.8 Tensile Strength(MPa) and Liquid Immersion (%) for 57
0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
BIL. TITTLE PAGE
1.1 Classification of natural fiber [1] 2
1.2 Empty Fruit Bunch 3
2.1 Composite Composition 6
2.2 Oil Palm Tree [11] 11
2.3 Palm Kernel 12
2.4 Fruit Bunch [11] 12
2.5 Oil Palm Fibre 13
2.6 Specimen For Tensile Test [14] 15
2.7 Tensile Strength versus Volume Fraction of Chopped 16
Random Fibre Composite [14]
2.8 Relation Between Fibre Content and Compressive 16
Strength Percentage [16].
2.9 Hand-Lay-Up Process 17
2.10 Tensile Properties of Neat PLA and PLA based 18
Composite [13].
3.1 Process Chart 21
3.2 Haake Internal Mixer 23
3.3 Crusher Machine 23
3.4 Mould 24
3.5 Hot Press Machine 24
3.6 Sample Cutting Machine 25
3.7 Dog bone shape Specimen 25
3.8 Rotor Mill Machine 26
3.9 Sieve Shaker 26
xiii
3.10 Crushed Mixture of OPEFB-PP/PLA 27
3.11 Tensile Test Machine (Model: Instron 5585) 30
3.12 Specimen for Liquid Immersion Test(2.5cmx2.5cm) 31
3.13 Specimen Immersed in Liquid 31
4.1 Stress-Strain Diagram for Neat PP/PLA 0% Specimen 33
4.2 Stress-Strain Diagram for Neat PP/PLA 3% Specimen 33
4.3 Stress-Strain Diagram for Neat PP/PLA 5% Specimen 34
4.4 Stress-Strain Diagram for Neat PP/PLA 10% Specimen 35
4.5 Stress and Modulus-PP/PLA Diagram 36
4.6 Stress-Strain Diagram for Neat PP/PLA Specimen 37
4.7 Stress-Strain Diagram for OPEFB0.063-PP/PLA Specimen 38
4.8 Stress-Strain Diagram for OPEFB0.25-PP/PLA Specimen 39
4.9 Stress-Strain Diagram for OPEFB20%-PP/PLA Specimen 40
4.10 Stress-Strain Diagram for OPEFB30%-PP/PLA Specimen 41
4.11 Specimen composite for OPEFB20%-PP/PLA (Method A) 46
4.12 Specimen composite for PP/PLA-OPEFB 10% (Method A) 46
4.13 Specimen composite for PP/PLA-OPEFB 10% (Method B) 47
5.1 Tensile Strength Diagram for 10wt% OPEFB-PP/PLA 49
Neat PP/PLA
5.2 Tensile Strength Diagram for OPEFB(0.25mm) and Neat 50
PP/PLA3%
5.3 Stress-Strain Diagram for 10wt% OPEFB-PP/PLA 51
Specimen
5.4 Stress-Strain Diagram for 0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA 52
Specimen
5.5 Hardness Scale - Specimen Diagram for 10wt% 53
OPEFB-PP/PLA and Neat PP/PLA
5.6 Hardness Scale and Tensile Strength Diagram for 10wt% 53
OPEFB-PP/PLA and Neat PP/PLA
5.7 Hardness Scale - Specimen Diagram for 0.25mm 54
OPEFB-PP/PLA and Neat PP/PLA
5.8 Hardness Scale and Tensile Strength Diagram for 10wt% 54
OPEFB-PP/PLA and Neat PP/PLA
5.9 Tensile Strength and Liquid Immersion Diagram for 10wt% 56
xiv
OPEFB-PP/PLA
5.10 Tensile Strength and Liquid Immersion Diagram for 57
0.25mm OPEFB-PP/PLA
xv
LIST OF SYMBOL
Tg = Glass Transition Temperature
Tm = Melting Temperature
m0 = Initial Mass
m1 = Final Mass
xvi
LIST OF APPENDICES
BIL TITTLE PAGE
A Specimen Before and After Tensile Test 67
B Gantt Chart PSM I 68
C Gantt Chart PSM II 69
D Flowchart of PSM 70
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Research
‘Projek Sarjana Muda’ (PSM) is compulsory for all student of UTeM in order
to obtain a degree in the engineering field. From the PSM, every student will apply
their subject learned from the classes into the final project. There are many
applications that have to do such as theoretical, experimental, analysis, design and so
on. Objective of this project is to produce professional and efficient graduate to
complete engineering problem by literature and scientific study through research
approach and development and through application of knowledge were studied and
knowledge from some other field those concerning.
Nowadays, there is a growing public concern for reducing damage to our
environment. This project will focus on composite that are created from natural fiber
reinforced polymer matrix. Composites are hybrid materials made of polymer resin
reinforced by fibres, combining the high mechanical and physical performance of the
fibres and appearance, bonding and physical properties of polymers. The composites
may become inconsistent fibre quality and can lead impact failure. Natural
composites have various benefits such as due to its friendly characteristics that is no
skin irritation and lightweight property of the products.
Natural fiber provide several benefits such as low cost, green availability, low
densities, recyclable, biodegradable, moderate properties and usually produce in
abundant amount at one time.
2
Asbestos
Ceramic Fibre
Metal Fibre
Seed Fibre
Leaf Fibre
Skin Fibre
Fruit Fibre
Stalk Fibre
Fiber are classification into two group that are natural fiber and synthetic fiber. For
natural fiber it is come from animal, vegetable, and mineral while for polymer, metal,
and glass.
Animal Fibres Minerals Fibres Plant Fibres
Animal Hair
Silk Fibre
Avian Fibre
Figure 1.1: Classification of Natural Fibre [1].
Natural fibers include those made from animal, mineral sources and plant.
Animal fiber generally comprise of animal hair, silk fiber, and avian fibre. For
synthetic fibres comprise of asbestos, ceramic fibers, and metal fibers. While the
example of the plant fibers are seed fiber, leaf and skin fibre [1].
This research is carried out to cover about the oil palm empty fruit bunch
(OPEFB) fibre. OPEFB fibre also known in scientific as Elaeis guineensis [7]. This
products including empty fruit bunches, fibre and shell but for this research directed
towards the oil palm empty fruit bunch [8]. The OPEFB fibre are clean,
biodegradable, and compatible than many other fibre from wood species. OPEFB
fiber is extracted from palm oil empty fruit bunch (EFB) and during the
manufacturing process of oil palm fibre, EFB is shredded, separated, refined, and
dried. The fresh oil palm fruit bunch contains about 21% palm oil, 6-7% palm kernel,
14-15% fiber, 6-7% shell, and 23% empty fruit bunch [2]. On about 27million acres
oil palm is produced in 42countries worldwide, Malaysia is the world largest
producer and exporter of oil palm. Therefore, as the world largest producer increases
the oil palm plantation in Malaysia and at the same time Malaysia also produced
waste products in large quantity. By exploiting this kind of waste materials not only
Natural Fibre
3
maximizes the use of oil palm but also helps preserve natural resources and maintain
ecological balance [8].
Figure 1.2: Empty Fruit Bunch
There is an annual production of over 2 million tons of waste oil palm fibre
[2]. In the past few years, empty fruit bunches are mainly incinerated to produce
bunch ash to be used back to the field as fertilizer. By doing the conventional method
that is burning these residues, it is normally creates an environmental problem and
generates severe air pollution. So that, the OPEFB become more expensive to
dispose. The OPEFB has been chosen to be the raw materials of producing
composite in this research is due to its abundant and low cost than other source, clean,
nontoxic abrasive renewable. From the previous research, the oil palm shell was used
as structural concrete and found that the oil palm shell has good potential as a course
aggregate for the production of structural lightweight concrete [8]. In other previous
research, the OPEFB is used in Stone Mastic Asphalt. This investigation is to
improve the service properties of the Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) mixes by forming
plant to prevent drain-down of asphalt as to increase the stability and durability of
the pavement mix [9].
For the matrix of the composites used in this project are Polypropylene and
Poly(lactic-acid). Polypropylene is a semi-crystalline polymer that is used
extensively due to its unique properties, cost and easy to fabricate. While Poly(lactic-
acid)(PLA) is a biodegradable polymer derived from lactic-acid and made from 100%
renewable resources such as sugar, wheat and starch. Therefore, from this research,
can compare the properties between these both materials and do the research on the
application suitable for the composite materials.
4
For this research, the tensile properties of this oil palm fiber reinforced with
matrix Polypropylene and Poly(lactic-acid) (PLA) will be investigated and the tensile
properties of the matrix Polypropylene and Poly(lactic-acid) (PLA) itself also will be
investigated. The physical characteristics of high molecular weight PLA are to a
great extent dependent on its transition temperatures for common qualities such as
density, heat capacity, and mechanical and rheological properties. In the solid state,
PLA can be either amorphous or semicrystalline, depending on the stereochemistry
and thermal history. For amorphous PLAs, the glass transition (Tg) determines the
upper use temperature for most commercial applications. For semicrystalline PLAs,
both the Tg (~58°C) and melting point (Tm), 130°–230°C (depending on structure)
are important for determining the use temperatures across various applications. Both
of these transitions, Tg and Tm, are strongly affected by overall optical composition,
primary structure, thermal history, and molecular weight.
Above Tg amorphous PLAs transition from glassy to rubbery and will behave
as a viscous fluid upon further heating. Below Tg, PLA behaves as a glass with the
ability to creep until cooled to its β transition temperature of approximately -45°C.
Below this temperature PLA will only behave as a brittle polymer [5].
This research is due to the tensile strength of composite that is OPEFB fibre
reinforced polypropylene and PLA. Below shows the tensile properties of single
natural fiber for bamboo, banana and palm leaves.
Table 1.1 Tensile Properties of Single Natural Fibre [2]
From the table above, we can see that the tensile strength and the young’s
modulus for single natural fiber such as banana fibre, bamboo fibre and palm leaves
fibre. Therefore, for this project oil palm fiber empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) was
selected to be reinforced for the composite.
Fibre Tensile Strength (MPa) Young’s Modulus (MPa)
Banana 550±7 2000
Bundle of Bamboo 441 35900
Palm Leaves 97-196 2500-4700
5
1.2 Objectives
The objective of this project is to investigate the tensile properties of oil palm
fiber by loading OPEFB fibre into Polypropylene and Poly (lactic-acid). To identify
the appropriate or optimum ratio of the OPEFB fiber in particle size to produce
composite.
1.3 Problem Statement
To reduce the rate of the one of the main contributors to the nation’s pollution
problem this is due to the abundance of OPEFB as waste [7]. Being the world’s
largest producer and exporter of palm oil, Malaysia is well known for its palm oil
industry and one significant problem in the large amounts of waste produced. By
exploiting this waste oil palm can maximises the use of oil palm and helps preserve
natural sources and also maintain ecological balance [8]. The synthetic fibres such as
glass fibre, rock wool, or asbestos are concern with the possible health effects and it
is required high standard practice to take safety precaution when installing or
handling fibreglass or rock wool. Therefore, by using natural fibre we can reduce the
possible health effect [10]. Natural fibre has excellent advantages that are it can be
renewable, nonabrasive and cheaper. So that, this oil palm fibre can be an attractive
reinforcement in making composite and can use in various application.
1.4 Scope
To achieve the objectives of this research, several scopes should be concern
about that is investigating the composite’s tensile properties through the tensile test
and do liquid immersion test to identify the characteristic of tensile strength. Another
scope is to identify the appropriate ratio of constituent materials and the
methodology process according to the characteristic of each component in producing
the OPEFB fibre reinforced Polypropylene and Poly (lactic-acid) composites.
6
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Literature review is the most important step to retrieve information related
with the topic. Literature review can be done by searching all the information from
internet, journals, books, magazines, and other sources. In this chapter, the
information such as about the materials used in composites and the preparation were
study in this chapter.
2.2 Composite
Composite is a structure made of materials which maintain their identities
even after the component fully formed. Two main components in composites are
matrix and reinforcement.
Figure 2.1: Composite Composition
The composite is expected to improve the mechanical characteristics such as
the stiffness, toughness as well as ambient and high temperature resistance [19].
Typical fibres used are glass, carbon, aramid and natural fibres. Epoxy, polyester and
7
polypropylene is a common resins used in the composite fabrication. By this joining,
poor capabilities and drawbacks of the individual components will be disappeared.
For instance, composites will have a high stiffness and strength with a low weight
and their corrosion resistance is often excellent [19]. Composites are now a part of
everyday life, and have entered nearly all major industrial sectors, including
aerospace, ground transport, packaging, sports industry and civil engineering. Most
current applications are modern; however, some are in fact quite ancient.
There are four types of matrix those are used in composites, namely polymer
matrix composite (PMC) those are composed of a matrix from thermoset and
thermoplastic and embedded glass, steel and fibres, metal matrix composite (MMC)
that composites are composed of metallic matrix such as aluminium, magnesium,
iron and copper, ceramic matrix composite (CMC) those are composed of a ceramic
matrix and embedded fibres of other ceramic material and carbon carbon composite
(CCC) [19 and 21]. For the good reinforcement, there are a few thing should be
concern about such as high elastic modulus, high strength, low density, and easy
wetted by matrix. The fibre can be designed in 3 designs unidirectional, biaxial and
laminates or any combination of three of them. Besides, there are three main types of
geometries of the reinforcement which are particle-reinforced, fibre-reinforced and
structural composite [19]. Despite, fibre based reinforced composites will be
emphasized in this study, whereby the OPEFB will be the filler in composites. Thus,
(PMC) system which utilized the OPEFB as filler reinforcement material will be
developed and further emphasizes in this study.
2.2.1 Polymer Matrix Composite
Polymer Matrix Composites (PMC) is also known as Fibre Reinforcement
Polymers (FRP). The most common matrix materials for composites are polymeric
materials. The reason for this is two-fold. First, in general the mechanical properties
of polymers are inadequate for much structural purpose. In particular their strength
and stiffness are low compared to the metals and ceramics. This meant that the
reinforcement at least, initially did not have to have exceptional properties. Secondly,
the processing of polymer matrix composite (PMCs) need not involve high pressures