Mechanical Evaluation of Epoxy Polymer Composites Reinforced with Areca Leaf Sheath Fiber

Natural fibers offer several advantages, including renewability, environmental safety, lightweight properties, cost-effectiveness, and reliable mechanical performance, over artificial fibers. Areca leaf sheath fibers have been widely recognized for their versatility, which allows them to be flexible or brittle depending on their moisture content. This study investigates the mechanical performance of chemically treated areca sheath fiber-reinforced epoxy composites with different fiber lengths and compositions. The results demonstrated that the 15 mm fiber length and 30% fiber volume fraction composition are best compared to plywood, pure epoxy, and unprocessed areca fiber. We conducted chemical composition, FTIR, XRD, and simultaneous thermal analysis on unprocessed and processed areca sheath fibers. The findings showed that the epoxy composite reinforced with areca sheath fiber had much better mechanical qualities, with a tensile strength of 66.90 MPa, a compression strength of 31.02 MPa, a flexural strength of 80.17 MPa, an interlaminar shear strength of 2.50 MPa, and an impact strength of 9.89 kJ/m². These findings underscore the potential of alkaline-treated areca leaf sheath fiber composites as an eco-friendly and effective substitute for plywood, contributing to environmental conservation and reducing deforestation.