Abstract:
Eco-friendly composite made of Timoho Fiber (TF) continuously developed to get the best
performance to replace plastic-based synthetic fibers. This study focuses on investigating
physical characteristics, mechanical properties, thermal analysis, and the morphology of TFreinforced polyester composites by adding organic (egg shell powder-ESP) and inorganic
(aluminum powder-AP) fillers. Hot press method was used in the composite fabrication with
considered volume fraction of TF, organic, and inorganic fillers. The results showed that the
density of TF-polyester composites decreases with the increasing volume fraction of the
fibers. For additional fillers, it was shown that AP was more effective to be used to improve
density than ESP. The tensile and impact strength of the composite increased with increasing
TF volume. However, the addition of ESP and AP fillers into the composite caused different
mechanical characteristics. Filler addition increased the elasticity modulus, toughness,
thermal resistance increased, while the tensile strength decreased. ESP and AP fillers
provided the best thermal resistance due to the relatively high thermal conductivity of ±1700
C compared to composites without fillers and amorphous ESP fillers. SEM observation
supported the analysis of TF-polyester composite mechanical characteristics.
K E Y W O R D: Sinorganic filler, mechanic, organic filler, TF-polyester composites,
thermal properties
