The Influence of Zalacca Short-Fiber Addition with Random Orientation on the Characteristics of Low-density Polyethylene Matriced Composites

The aim of this research is to study the influence of zalacca fiber addition on physical, chemical, and mechanical characteristics of LDPE matriced composites fabricated by hot-pressing method. The fibers were short, random-oriented and varied as 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt. %. The examinations included density testing, XRD, TGA-DTA, tensile and flexural testing, SEM and DMA. There was a reduction in composite density due to fiber loading. The zalacca fiber addition did not change degree of crystallinity of composites significantly. There was a bit decrease in thermal stability caused by fiber addition. The composite tensile strength and modulus of elasticity were enhanced with addition of zalacca fibers up to 40 wt. %. Tensile strength and elastic modulus declined due to further addition of fibers. At 40 wt. % fiber loading, there were several fiber fractures indicating that the applied load was borne effectively by the fibers after transferred from LDPE matrix. The fiber loading induced a meaningful improvement of flexural strength and modulus. There was a raise in storage and viscous modulus of composites due to fiber addition. However, fiber loading decreased loss factor, thereby reducing their damping capacity.