DEVELOPMENT OF COCONUT FIBER-CORN COB ASH HYBRID REINFORCED POLYVINYL CHLORIDE COMPOSITES FOR SHOE SOLE PRODUCTION

Abstract

An experimental investigation was carried out to determine the microstructural, mechanical and physical properties of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix reinforced with coconut fiber (CF) and corn cob ash (CCA) as potential composite materials for sole shoe production. The reinforcement materials were treated and characterized before incorporation into the matrix phase (PVC). The composite samples were produced via compression molding technique to the standard sample geometries required for the intended tests at pressure and temperature of 0.517 N/mm2 and 150 °C, respectively. The composite samples had varying CF and CCA proportions within the range of 2-20 wt. %. The properties measured include tensile, flexural, impact, hardness, wear rate and water absorptivity in addition to microstructural analysis. The results revealed that improved properties were obtained with increasing fibre content. It was discovered that 20 wt. % CF based composite exhibited excellent properties with ultimate tensile strength of 47 MPa, tensile modulus of 3.52 GPa, hardness of 81 HS and wear index of 0.06 mg. Similar results were observed for the hybrid composite containing 15 wt. % CF and 5wt. % CCA with flexural strength of 48.6 MPa, flexural Modulus of 3.77 GPa and Impact strength of 94.3 J/m2. It was noticed that phase segregations within the matrix phase were more pronounced at high particulate content of 20 wt. % CCA which revealed the reason for the composites' poor mechanical properties. Thus, high proportion of CF in the developed composites supports the exploitation of coconut fiber as reinforcement in PVC for shoe sole application where high flexibility and good impact resistance are essential while CCA will promote light-weight.