Investigation on mechanical properties of Areca palm leaf stalk fiber and mulberry fiber reinforced composite material

The polyester matrix using fibres extracted from both mulberries and the stalks of Areca palm trees. Compression moulding was used to create the composites with alternating layers of A-A-A, M-M-M, A-M-A, and M-A-M reinforced in polyester resin. Surface morphology and mechanical characteristics were analysed using scanning electron microscopy, in addition to tensile, flexural, and impact tests. The findings revealed that the tensile characteristics of the M-M-M composite significantly increased, the flexural properties of the A-M-A composite significantly increased, and the impact properties of both the M-M-M and A-M-A composites significantly increased. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze the morphology of the broken surfaces of composite samples. M-M-M and A-A-A surface morphologies were found to give the best adhesion between the fiber and matrix in the composite, with the least fibre breaking and fibre pullout.