Vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) and hot pressing for CaCO3 nanoparticle treated kenaf fiber reinforced composites

This work was to apply the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process and use calcium carbonate inorganic nanoparticle impregnation (INI) to improve the mechanical properties and water resistance of the kenaf fiber/polyester composites. The results show that the modulus of elasticity (MOE), modulus of rapture (MOR), tensile modulus (TE) and tensile strength (TS) of the composites made with INI-treated fibers are increased by 33.1%, 64.3%, 22.3% and 67.8%, respectively, compared with the composites made with un-treated fibers. The thickness swelling of 24-h water submersion is reduced from 19.7% to 1.9%. The moisture contents of the composites after the conditioning and water submersion are reduced from 5.8% to 1.5% and 18.3% to 2.2%, respectively, when INI-treated fibers are employed. The improvement makes the kenaf fiber/polyester composites possible to replace the glass fiber SMC for the automobile application.