Investigation on the mechanical properties of natural composites made with Indian almond fiber and neem seed particulates

Abstract

Features such as environment friendly and low cost attract the industrialists toward natural composites. The utilization of agricultural wastes in the manufacturing of natural composites expands its usage in several industrial applications. Hence, the research on the extensive usage of agricultural wastes is still required. Consequently, in this research, an attempt has been made to fabricate the natural composites using the agricultural wastes like Indian almond fruit and neem seed. Indian almond fiber was extracted from the fruit and neem seed were converted into powder form. Composite was prepared by conventional hand layup technique. The fiber quantity was kept as constant and neem seed particle (NSP) volume fractions were varied from 2.5 to 10 wt%. Mechanical tests like tensile, flexural, impact and hardness were determined. Results indicated that the fiber and NSP showed good reinforcement effect. The Indian almond composite (IAC) with 7.5 wt% NSP, that is, IAC/7.5 wt% NSP composite, exhibited the better mechanical properties. Further, the IAC/10 wt% NSP composite displayed the less water absorption and least degradation. This study suggests that the IAC/7.5 wt% NSP composite could be used in industrial applications due to its good mechanical properties.