American Journal of Materials Science 2015, 5(3C): 203-208 DOI: 10.5923/c.materials.201502.39 Flexural Strength Analysis of Areca Frond Reinforced Starch Based Composites by Taguchi Method Srinivas Shenoy H., Suhas Y. Nayak * , Ramakrishna Vikas S., Vishal Shenoy P., Navaneet Krishna Vernekar Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University, Manipal, India Abstract Recycling of materials effects the environment and thus greater impetus is being given to develop materials like biodegradable composites from renewable sources. A biodegradable composite is made up of natural reinforcements and matrices that are environment friendly. Natural reinforcements in matrices that are biodegradable have several advantages like reasonably good specific modulus, low cost and abundant availability in comparison to synthetic reinforcements. In this study areca frond fibres are reinforced with calcium carbonate and rubber latex as binders, starch, and water, vinegar as base material and glycerol as plasticizer. Matrix ingredients included corn starch (15-30 g), water (30-60 g), vinegar (5-10 g), calcium carbonate (5-10 g), rubber latex (5-10 g) and glycerol (10-20 g). A fusion of hand layup and compression moulding technique was used to prepare composite panels. Taguchi method is an optimization technique to reduce number of desired experiments while maintaining quality of data collected and for finding the significance of various factors and their levels which affect the response. Taguchi method with L 8 orthogonal array with six factors and two levels combination was used for experimentation. Specimens for the flexural tests were cut out from the prepared panels and tests were performed in accordance with ASTM standards. Maximum flexural strength of 48.54 MPa was obtained with a combination of corn starch (30 g), water (30 g), vinegar (10 g), calcium carbonate (10 g), rubber latex (5 g) and glycerol (20 g). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the obtained data and S/N (signal to noise) ratios for larger the better quality characteristics was calculated. Results indicated that rubber latex has the maximum effect (33.18%) on flexural strength of the biodegradable composites followed by corn starch, vinegar, calcium carbonate, glycerol and water. Keywords Areca frond, Calcium carbonate, Rubber latex, Corn starch, Biodegradable, Hand layup, Taguchi method 1. Introduction Evolution of developing green composites is gaining momentum and it has been a key alternative to fossil fuel based materials. The concept of green composites is to deliver the optimal functional requirements and maximize performance of the blend. Composites thus manufactured by natural fibres and environment friendly matrix are extensively used due to its advantages like abundant availability, ease of treatment for natural fibres, light weight, low cost, high specific modulus and biodegradability. Natural fibre characteristics vary with varying cultivation conditions, the chemical constituents is mainly of cellulose, lignin, pectin, hemicellulose, water soluble elements and residual ash along with other organic materials [1]. K Murali Mohan Rao et al. [2] investigated the cross-sectional shape, density and tensile strength of natural fibres such as vakka, date and bamboo. The cross-sectional * Corresponding author: synayak@gmail.com (Suhas Y. Nayak) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/materials Copyright © 2015 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved shape like circular, oval was determined by optical laser beam equipment for tensile testing. Picnometric procedure was adopted for measuring density and percentage moisture. Rajan et al. [3] subjected areca nut husk fibres to bio softening so as to reduce the lignin content of the fibres thus facilitate better fibre strength properties. Padmaraj N H et al. [4] studied and compared the tensile behaviour of untreated areca nut fibres with that of wheat flour, sugar, and jaggery treated fibres. R P Swamy et al. [5] fabricated composite laminate based on areca fruit fibres with different composition of phenol formaldehyde using hydraulic hot press technique. Tensile strength, bending strength, moisture absorption test and biodegradability were assessed. Ming Qiu Zhang et al. [6] investigated the properties of sisal fibre / plasticized wood flour composites fabricated using hot press technique. The variations in tensile, flexural, impact and thermal properties of these composites were discussed. A Varada Rajulu et al. [7] investigated the interfacial bonding and mechanical properties of natural fibre hildegardia populifolia reinforced partially biodegradable styrenated polyester composites. The composites were fabricated using a combination of hand layup and