The Influence ofTemperature on Mechanical Properties and Fiber Damage

The purpose of this project is to study the influence of processing temperature on
mechanical properties and extent of fiber damage of the empty fruit bunch (EFB) - high
density polyethylene (HDPE) composites during compounding and processing. The
samples produced from the injection molding were subjectedto tensile and flexural tests
to correlate the effect of various processing temperatures with the mechanical properties
of the composites. Fibers of 3-5 mm in length were compounded with HDPE using an
extruder to form the raw material of the composites. The resulting compound was
transferred to the injection molding to obtain the specimens required for the tensile and
flexural tests. The injection molding temperature was varied from 170°C, 175°C, 180°C,
185°C to 190°C. Finally, fiber damage characterization was conducted by dissolving the
HDPE matrix using xylene and measuring the length of the remaining fiber after
extrusionprocess, injection molding, tensile and flexural tests.