Analysis of the effects of fabrication parameters on the mechanical properties of Areca fine fiber-reinforced phenol formaldehyde composite using Taguchi technique

The influences of fabrication parameters such as the fiber content, fiber length, alkali concentration and alkali treatment duration on the mechanical properties (tensile and flexural strength) of Areca fine fiber (AFF)-reinforced phenol formaldehyde (PF) composite were investigated in the present study. The Taguchi's experimental design (L27 orthogonal array) was used to prepare the composites and to analyze the mechanical properties of composites. The analysis of variance and signal-to-noise ratio with the Taguchi method were also used to understand the influence of the fabrication parameters on the tensile and flexural strength of the composite. Results show that the fiber content was the most influential fabrication parameter on both the tensile and flexural strength followed by the fiber length and the alkali treatment duration. The interaction between the fabrication parameters also has a significant effect on the tensile and flexural strength of the composite. The optimal combination of fabrication parameters to obtain the maximum tensile and flexural strength was found to be FL = 10 mm, FC = 35 vol%, AC = 6% and ATD = 1 h.