Investigation of Mechanical Properties and Morphological Study of the Alkali Treated Agave Angustifolia Marginata Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Polymer Composites

In this work, the agave angustifolia marginata fiber reinforced composite were manufactured by compression molding. The fibers were exposed to alkali treatment by 5wt% NaoH solution and the composite plates reinforced with were produced by alkali treated fiber with various matrix/fiber weight ratios (60: 40, 65: 35, 70: 30 and 75: 25). In order to study the effect of length of the fiber composites are also made from different length of fibers (i.e. 1cm, 3cm and 5cm). The fabricated plates were subjected to tensile, flexural and impact tests as per the ASTM standards. The experimental result results show that the composite made from 65: 35 matrix/fiber weight ratio and 5cm fiber length were significantly increased the mechanical properties. The surface morphology also were analyzed by the SEM and the good adhesion or bonding was observed between the fibers and epoxy resin for 65: 35 ratio of composite.