Optimization of Compression Molding Parameters for Pineapple Leaf Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites Using Taguchi Method Mohd Zulkefli Selamat, Ayu Natasya Kasim, Sivakumar Dhar Malingam, and Mohd Ahadlin Mohd Daud Abstract The appropriate compression molding parameters of the fabrication pro- cess of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites materials are important to ensure the quality of composite samples. Therefore, this paper presents the deter- mination of optimal compression molding parameters for pineapple leaf fiber (PLF)/polypropylene (PP) composite to get larger values of tensile strength through Taguchi method. The Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array has been used as a design of experiment (DOE) while the tensile strength is assumed to be quality character- istic (responses). In order to determine optimal compression molding parameter, four parameters of compression molding, which were temperature, pressure, pre heat duration and compression duration have been analyzed. The nine samples of the composites were fabricated with 60 wt% fiber loading and 30 mm fiber length with random orientation. From the analysis of tensile test result, it was determined that the optimum compression molding parameters for PLF/PP composite which are 30 kg/cm 2 for pressure, 175 °C for temperature, 6 and 4 min to pre heat and com- pression duration respectively and give the higher tensile strength of 34.57 MPa. From this result, it is concluded that the 60/40 wt% (PLF/PP) composite ratio with 30 mm fiber length that were fabricated with optimal compression molding parame- ters is the best combination to get high value of tensile strength. There are only slight differences between the predicted and experimental values, where the experimental tensile strength only decreased by 1.9% compared to the predicted value. Keywords Pineapple leaf fiber (PLF) · Polypropylene (PP) · Biodegradable fiber reinforced plastics (BFRP) · Taguchi method M. Z. Selamat (B ) · A. N. Kasim · S. D. Malingam · M. A. M. Daud Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia e-mail: zulkeflis@utem.edu.my Centre for Advanced Research on Energy, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020 U. Sabino et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 6th International Conference and Exhibition on Sustainable Energy and Advanced Materials, Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4481-1_13 129