Applied Composite Materials 9: 369377, 2002. 2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

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Mechanical Properties of Date Palm Fiber Reinforced Composites

FALEH A. AL-SULAIMAN
Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Received 5 July 2001; accepted 19 October 2001) Abstract. Mechanical properties of several laminates of date palm leave (DPL) reinforced composites are investigated. Three different processes to construct these composite laminates are assessed. These are wet lay-up with simple vacuum bagging, autoclaving with vacuum bagging and Vulcan press moulding. Several ber orientation and dimensions are tested. Two types of resins are selected. The rst is a high temperature curing Phenolic (phenol formaldehyde) resin. The second is a two-component Bisphenol resin with amine-based slow curing agent. The average tensile strength ranged between 127.4 and 152.3 MPa for long unidirectional bers and 8.4 to 62.6 MPa for short and medium length bers respectively (depending on process and resin type). The Bisphenol laminates have better mechanical properties. These laminates have consistently 25 to 50% higher tensile strength than Phenolic laminates. The bending strength ranged between 120.6 and 342.3 MPa (at 500 mm/min loading speed) depending on ber length. Short ber Bisphenol laminates have excellent fatigue life characteristics (over 466,000 and 653,000 cycles at 70% and 60% of maximum stress loads respectively). The process parameters and resin types have signicant effects on the laminate properties. The water absorption of the laminates ranged between 2.3 to 5.8% for the Phenolic laminates (depending on the test method and manufacturing process used). The water absorption of Bisphenol laminates ranged between 10 and 40%. The produced laminates were very stable to handle all required machining processes as construction panels. They were successfully subjected to several machining processes such as milling, end milling, hack sawing and drilling.

1. Introduction The abundance of date palm fronds (DPF) and date palm leaves (DPL) in the Middle East and North Africa presents an exciting opportunity to develop a low cost construction material. Approximately 100,000 tons of DPF and 15,000 tons of DPL are produced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alone. Worldwide, an estimated 1,130,000 tons of DPF are produced annually. DPF have been reported to exhibit high resistance to alkaline and acid attack [1]. Rafe palm stem bers used in concrete mix did not degrade after 36 months [2]. The specic strength of DPL is reported to be higher than many aluminum alloys [3]. The scope of this paper is to evaluate the possibility of producing laminates of DPL bers and investigate the different aspects of composite fabrication such as the suitable resin types, ber orientation and processing parameters. The relevant

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mechanical properties of the produced laminates are studied. The suitability of using these composites as construction panels is also assessed through subjecting the laminates to typical machining operations including sawing, milling, end milling, hack sawing and drilling. To start this task, there is a need to determine the mechanical properties of the DPL bers. The basic mechanical properties of the DPL bers were the subject of many investigations, i.e. [3] and [4]. However, there are literally hundreds of date palm types. The trees look almost identical except for minute variations in the leave textures, the shape, size and color of the dates produced. No reference is found in literature regarding the variation of the mechanical properties of different types of date palm leaves. Thus in the outset of this work there is a need to determine if there are signicant variations in the mechanical properties of DPL types. 2. Selection of DPL Fiber Due to the variety of date palm trees, a selection of eight common types was done. The main selection criteria were the abundance of the type and the variation of the geographical location. Samples of each type were collected from Riyadh, Qatif and Al-Ahsa. These types were hand cleaned, cut to proper size, weighed and stored at 23 C 1 and 30% 10% relative humidity. The leaves were monitored until the moisture content reaches 40% loss of weight (as compared to the weight of fresh leave). This level is reported to produce the best mechanical properties [3]. Minimums of 10 specimens were prepared for each type of DPL according to ASTM D3039 [5]. This denes a tabbed, straight-sided at specimen. Table I summarizes the results of these tests. The mechanical properties vary signicantly. The tensile
Table I. Mechanical properties of various date palm leaves common in the Arabian peninsula (dry leaves <30% moisture content). Berhi Ghurra Hojub Khlas Khusab Megnas Shishi Male Average Std Tensile 176 strength (MPa) Tensile 4.5 strain (MPa) Youngs 4.8 Modulus (GPa) Specic 1.12 gravity 97 100 90 196 130 105 185 135 44

3.1

3.0

2.5

4.7

3.5

3.2

4.1

3.6

.8

3.8

4.5

5.0

5.4

4.4

4.0

5.2

4.6

.6

1.23

1.25

1.22

1.17

1.08

1.24

1.18

1.18

.06

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Table II. Mechanical properties of selected construction materials. Material Ash, white 2121 grade (6) Redwood, dense structure Pressed wood Aluminum alloys Steel Palm leaves Tensile strength (MPa) 14.82 11.72 5.316.5 140620 3402100 97196 Young modulus (GPa) 10.34 8.27 210 70 210 2.54.7

strength was between 97 and 196 MPa with an average of 135 44 MPa. The Youngs modulus of elasticity varied between 2.5 and 5.4 GPa with an average of 4.6 0.6 GPa. However, the average properties far exceed those of common construction material, Table II.

3. Composite Panel Production Several aspects of composite production were addressed. This included: Choice of appropriate resins based on the adhesion force, price, and suitability. Several initial screening tests were performed on full and shredded leaves (3 mm long, 0.5 mm wide). Two types of resins were found to perform reasonably well. The rst is a Phenolic (Phenol formaldehyde) resin requiring about 150 C to cure. The second is a two-component Bisphenol resin with amine-based slow curing agent curing at room temperature. The mechanical properties of the resins are shown in Table III. Required processing parameters. The types of selected resins dictate the processing temperature, however the processing pressure could range from simple vacuum bagging at 0.80.95 bar, to autoclaving at 8 bar or Vulcan press at 23 to 32 bar or higher (depending on the mould size). Fibers to resin ratio can be controlled within limited range. Several ratios were initially experimented with. The choices that produced the most structurally stable composites were then selected. These are approximately 69 : 31 corresponding to a mass ratio of 65 : 35 for the Phenolic resin and 81 : 19 corresponding to a mass ratio of 75 : 25 for Bisphenol resin. Fiber orientation and dimension are obviously have major effects on the laminate properties. Three choices of ber orientation were chosen. These are: 1. Several layers of unidirectional full leaves stacked at 3(0 /90 ). The leaves are 1215 mm wide and 300 mm long. 2. Unidirectional bers with longitudinally shredded leaves (11.5 mm wide and 300 mm long).

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Table III. Mechanical properties of resins selected in DPL reinforced composites. Mechanical property Density (g/cm3) Flexural strength (MPa) Tensile strength (MPa) Elongation at break (%) Bisphenol 1.15 110115 7379 4.75.3 Phenolic formaldehyde 1.241.32 76117 3462 1.52.0

Table IV. Quality of produced DPL ber reinforced composites. Fiber orientation and size Phenolic Bisphenol Vacuum autoclave Vulcan press Vacuum autoclave Vulcan press X X X X X

Layers stacked X X at 0/90 Unidirectional X X (11.5 mm wide) Short bers X (3 mm long) = accepted mechanical integrity. X = unacceptable mechanical integrity.

3. Short randomly distributed bers (mean length 1 mm and 3 mm with 5 mm width). Two steel moulds were designed and manufactured to produce composite laminates with thickness ranging from 2 to 8 mm. The resulting panels are 25 mm square for one mould and a rectangular 25 mm wide and 30 mm long for the second. 4. Mechanical Stability of the Resulting Composite Panels The production of the samples faced several difculties. Table IV shows the results of the trials for each resin type using the chosen ber sizes and processes. The results indicate that the suitability of the process is highly dependent on the processing pressure, ber size and resin type. The mark denotes a laminate with good mechanical structure and integrity. The mark (X) indicates a laminate with unacceptable mechanical integrity. This could mean any one or more of the following defects: Non-binding of the ber to the resin. Deep delaminating of composite at the edges due to saw cutting, end milling or other specimen preparation processes.

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Existence of many visible imperfections (voids) that are deep and nonremovable by surface smoothing processes such as sanding, milling or polishing. The laminates with acceptable mechanical integrity were then prepared for mechanical testing. For each composite laminate, end and surface milling, hack sawing, drilling and ling was performed. All of the laminates had surface nish remarkably superior to wood.

5. Characterization of the Mechanical Properties Specimens were machined to precise dimensions and used for each of the following tests:

5.1. TENSILE TEST Tabbed specimen 150 mm by 25 were used with a 50 mm gage section, according to ASTM 3039 [5]. The results are summarized in Table V. The results indicate that the unidirectional ber laminates, made of Khusab DPI, with Bisphenol have tensile strength of 127.4 MPa (at 8 Bar processing pressure) and 152.7 MPa (at 32 Bar). The medium length bers (30 mm), randomly distributed laminates have strength of 28.8 to 62.2 MPa (depending on the process pressure and the resin type). The 1.5 and 3 mm randomly distributed bers have much lower strength. The Phenolic laminates have tensile strength of 8.4 and 19.4 MPa for the 1.5 and 3 mm bers respectively while the Bisphenol laminates have strength of 11.3 and 24.3 MPa respectively. These laminates exhibit better strength than pressed wood (5.3 to 16.5 MPa). Figure 1 shows the effect of ber length on laminate strength at 23 Bar.
Table V. Mechanical properties of DPL ber reinforced composites. Fiber orientation and size 8 Bar Unidirectional (300 mm long, 1.5 mm wide) Short bers (1.5 mm long) Short bers (3.0 mm long) Short bers (30 mm long) 8.4 13.3 28.8 Phenolic (MPa) 23 Bar 11.5 18.7 42.7 32 Bar 12.2 19.4 44.1 8 Bar 127.4 11.3 17.5 50.1 Bisphenol (MPa) 23 Bar 150.7 14.1 23.2 60.8 32 Bar 152.3 14.8 24.3 62.6

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Figure 1. The effect of ber length on laminate strength.

5.2. FATIGUE TEST Cyclic loading tests for selected Bisphenol specimens at different loading conditions and speed were performed according to ASTM D 3039. The cycle life at different loading factors is depicted in Figure 2. The results indicate that the laminates performed exceptionally well. The specimens, on the average, endured over 465,000 and 653,000 cycles at 70% and 60% of the maximum load.

5.3. BENDING TEST Specimens were tested in a three point bending conguration according to ASTM D 1037 [6]. The results are shown in Figure 3 for selected short ber randomly distributed laminates (tested at 5, 50 and 500 mm/min loading speeds). The Phenolic laminates have higher bending strength than the Bisphenol ones. Moreover, the ber length is found to be directly proportional to the bending strength. The results indicate high inuence of the loading speed on the bending strength.

6. Moisture Absorption This is considered a principle concern in construction panel applications. Six square test specimens (50 1 mm) from each laminate were machined to uniform thick-

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Figure 2. The cyclic loading of bisphenol laminate (3 mm ber).

Figure 3. The bending stress of DPL laminates at different loading speeds.

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Table VI. Water Absorption of DPL ber reinforced composites. Material Bisphenol (short ber) Bisphenol (medium ber) Bisphenol (long ber) Phenolic (short ber) Phenolic (medium ber) Phenolic (pure) Phenolic-formaldehyde Method 1 ISO/R62 (%) 15 23 40 3.5 5.8 0.2 1.9

F. A. AL-SULAIMAN

Method 3 ISO/R117 (%) 10 10.3 11 2.3 2.5 0.1 2.1

ness of 4 mm. Two methods for the determination of the mass of absorbed water were selected according to ISO 62-1980 (E) [8]. In both methods, three specimens are dried in the oven at 50 2 C for 24 1 h. In the rst method (method 1), the specimens are immersed in distilled water (at 23 0.5 C) for 24 1 h. Then the surface water is removed and the samples are weighed. In the second method (method 3), the specimens are immersed in boiling distilled water for 30 1 min and then allowed to cool for 15 1 min in water at ambient temperature. The surface water is removed and the specimens weighed. Table VI shows the results of the two methods. The water absorption of the laminates ranged between 2.3 and 5.8% for the Phenolic laminates (depending on the test method and manufacturing process used). The water absorption of Bisphenol laminates ranged between 10 and 40%. The lower absorption of the Phenolic laminates can be attributed to the higher ber to resin ratio (65 : 35 of the Phenolic compared to 75 : 25 mass wise of the Bisphenol). The higher resin content closes the porosities of the bers more effectively. The wetting of the ber surface is also enhanced by the high process temperature, which softens the bers and lowers the viscosity of the resin. 7. Discussion and Conclusion Several Panels of date palm leave (DPL) reinforced composites were successfully constructed using autoclaving technique with vacuum bagging or press moulds with controlled temperature. The low-pressure processes proved to be inadequate for quality laminates. A minimum of 8 Bar is needed to produce usable laminates. The quality of the composite panel fabrication varies with the choice of process. The Phenolic (phenol formaldehyde) resin is suitable for short bers only. Long bers result in reduced binding. This is probably due to the naturally poor binding between the DPL ber and this resin. The short bers, however, break the continuity of the bers and void the need to bind extended ber surfaces. The surface area of the bers is also signicantly increased resulting in a better binding. The Bisphenol, on the other hand, demonstrated better binding property. The ber

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length has signicant effect on the laminate properties. Short ber (1.53 mm) laminates have better strength than wood. Medium long ber laminates (30 mm) exhibit 3 to 4 times the strength of wood. Long bers laminates (300 mm) have an order of magnitude higher strength than wood. It has a tensile strength comparable to commercial Aluminum. The average tensile strength reached a maximum of 152.3 MPa for long unidirectional bers and 24.3 and 62.6 MPa for short and medium length bers respectively (depending on process and resin type). The Bisphenol laminates have better mechanical properties. These laminates have consistently 25 to 50% higher tensile strength than Phenolic laminates. The bending strength is directionally proportional to the ber length (for all loading speeds). The long durability of the specimens at relatively high loading stresses is an indication of a good potential for durable construction material. For the 1.5 mm ber laminates, the bending stress is lowest at a loading speed of 50 mm/min. This interesting observation is true for both types of resins. It may give a hint to the possible crack propagation dynamics of the brittle failure modes observed in all tested specimens. The water absorption of the laminates ranges between 2.3 to 5.8% for the Phenolic laminates (depending on the test method and manufacturing process used). The water absorption of Bisphenol laminates ranges between 10 and 40%. The Phenolic laminates offer a better choice of outdoor material than the Bisphenol ones. The produced laminates are very stable to handle all required machining processes as construction panels. These panels are well suited as insulation and construction panels for indoor and outdoor usage. Acknowledgment The author acknowledges the efforts of A. Al-Dhukair and S. Al-Ahmari for helping in sample preparations and measurements. References
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Jurf, et al., Development of New Building Material Using Date Palm Fronds, Final Report, KACST ARP-6-141, 1998. Uzomaka, O. J., Characteristics of Akwara as a Reinforced Fiber, Magazine of Concrete Research 28(6), 1976, 162167. Al-Sulaiman, F. A., Mechanical Properties of Date Palm Leaves, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 19(17), 2000. Al-Jurf, et al., Development of Heat Insulation Material Using Date Palm Leaves, Journal of Thermal Insulation 11, 1988, 158164. Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Fiber-Resin Composites, American Society of Testing and Materials, ASTM Standard D 3039-76 (Re-approved 1982), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Evaluating Properties of Wood-based Fiber and Particle Panel Material, American Society of Testing and Materials, ASTM Standard D 1037, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Determination of Water Absorption ISO 62-1980 (E), The International Organization of Standards, Geneva, Switzerland.

6. 7.