A study on the mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced polyester composites and the performance behavior of the composite gear

Abstract

Due to its light weight, low cost and noise- free qualities, polymer newlinegears find its place in industries. However previous work was done on polymer newlinegears with carbon and glass fibers as reinforcements. Consequently,limited newlineresearch was done on natural fiber gears. But with plastic materials usage newlineresults in environmental impact, natural fiber composites find its place easily. A newlinevariety of natural fibers is available in the earth. Among them, madar and newlineBauhinia Racemosa fibers have high potential as reinforcing agents in polymer newlinecomposites. So this study focuses mainly on madar and Bauhinia Racemosa newlinefibers. There is a growing interest in the use of woven or mat composites. newlineThrough the weaving process the extracted madar and Bauhinia Racemosa newlinefibers are converted into respective mats. To enhance better bonding of matrix newlineand fiber material the mats are alkali treated. The main objectives of the newlinepresent work focused on developing and testing madar and Bauhinia Racemosa newlinefiber mat reinforced polyester composite spur gears. Before that, the respective newlineplates are fabricated and tested for mechanical properties to determine the newlinestrength of the composites.Fiber volume fraction (Vf) of 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% are chosen in newlinethis work. Through hand layup method, Madar and Bauhinia Racemosa fiber newlinemat reinforced polyester composite plates and gears are fabricated. The number newlineof layers required as per volume fraction is calculated using volume fraction newlineequation for laminates newline newline