Aesthetic improvement of sheet molding compound (SMC) composite plate by using natural fiber reinforced polymer (NFRP) like jute fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composite coating

Abstract

Abstract In current scenario, the use of composite materials in our lives has become very common and these are found in our furniture, transportation, education, sports, building and infrastructural system. Compared with conventional materials such as metal, plastics and woods, composite materials offer specific strength, specific stiffness and tailored material properties. Composites mainly classified as metal matrix, ceramic matrix and polymer matrix composites. Polymer matrix composites are used for low temperature applications such as automotive body panels, crashworthiness, bumpers etc. Mainly carbon, glass and aramid fibers are used as reinforcement for these applications. Nowadays, natural fibers such as flax, jute, coir, cotton etc. are also used for decorative and semi structural applications in automotive and furniture industry. Polymer matrix composites are mass produced by use of sheet molding compound (SMC) compression molding technology. SMC technology has been used in manufacturing automobile parts, electrical insulation cover applications, partition panels and many semi structural applications etc. The current trend of improving the surface appearance and mechanical properties of SMC’s can lead to even more applications such as exterior, structural parts and also decorative parts in automobile, furniture and other domestic applications. Automotive interior dashboard parts, door panel parts and other interiors need to be aesthetically appealing so that it feels pleasant to seat in the car. In this work, hand lay-up process is used for coating onto the SMC compression molded plate with jute fiber reinforced epoxy composite. Uncoated and coated SMC plates are compared by various characterization methods such as tensile, compression, hardness and surface roughness. Also visual appearance and gloss test were performed. Coated SMC plate has improved tensile strength, surface finish, gloss value and visual appearance. There is almost same compression strength and Rockwell hardness value obtained.