International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research Volume 9, Issue 6, June-2018 447 ISSN 2229-5518 IJSER © 2018 http://www.ijser.org Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Ukam (Cochlosperum Planchonii) Fibre Reinforced Polyester Composites Okpanachi George Echiye 1 , Abugh Ashwe 2 , GB Nyior 3 , Humphery.A. Iortyer 4 1 National Space Research and Development Agency, 2.3.4 Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi Abstract— Natural fibers show potential to replace glass fibers in thermoset and thermoplastic composites.. In this research Ukam/polyester composites were analyzed using Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). A three-point bend apparatus was used in the DMA testing. The samples were tested at 2 hertz, 5 hertz and 10 hertz at a displacement of 10 μm, and at room temperature. The fiber volume content of the Ukam was varied from 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. The flexural storage modulus, the flexural loss modulus, and the loss factor were reported. Generally, as the fiber volume fraction of Ukam increased, the flexural storage and flexural loss modulus increased. The loss factor remained relatively constant with increasing fiber volume fraction. This enhancement of the properties can be attributed to improvement in the interfacial adhesion and compatibility between the ukam fibre and matrix. Index Terms— damping factor, loss modulus, polyester resin, storage modulus, Ukam. ——————————  —————————— 1 INTRODUCTION n recent years, natural reinforcer (rice husk, bagasse, straw, banana and maiz stalk) in form of fiber or particulate has been widely used as reinforcement in thermoplastic compo- site materials. The natural reinforcers are lighter and cheaper and provide much higher strength per unit mass than most inorganic reinforcers. Besides ecological considerations, sever- al technical aspects promote the renewed interest for the natu- ral reinforcer as supplement or replacement for traditional reinforcer (e.g., glass fibers) in polymer composites [1-3]. Nat- ural reinforcer from agricultural residues and forest products processing consist of lignocellulosic. As a resulted, they are subjected to thermal degradation during composite processing and application [1, 4]. It is of practical significance to under- stand and predict the thermal decomposition process of natu- ral reinforcers and the knowledge will help better design of composite materials for thermal application. Previous research of thermal decomposition of natural reinforcers was primarily motivated by applications such as renewable biomass ener- gy/natural fuels [5-7], forest fire propagation control [8]. Due to the complexity of thermal decomposition reactions of natu- ral reinforcers, extensive researches has been done in deter- mining individual behaviors of the main components or pseu- do- components (e.g., pure cellulose, lignin, and hemicellu- loses) [5-8]. Earlier works on the thermal decomposition of polymer reinforced with natural fibers shows that it has low thermal degradation of the polymer composites as a result of the lignocellulosic nature of natural fibers [4], which is not satisfactory. Hence there is need, to study the thermo- mechanical properties of ukam fibre polyester composites. It is in the light of the foregoing that the research on the investiga- tion of the Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Ukam Fibre Rein- forced Polyester Composites was motivated. Do not change the font sizes or line spacing to squeeze more text into a lim- ited number of pages. Please be certain to follow all submis- sion guidelines when formatting an article or it will be re- turned for reformatting. To modify the running headings, select View | Header and Footer. Click inside the text box to type the name of the journal the article is being submitted to and the manuscript identifica- tion number. Click the forward arrow in the pop-up tool bar to modify the header or footer on subsequent pages. IJSER staff will edit and complete the final formatting of your paper. 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1 Materials Ukam fibres were sourced from Ikem in Isiuzo LGA of Enugu. The ukam plant fibre was obtained from the stem which con- sists of wood core with bast fibres. In this stem are a number of fibre bundles each containing individual fibre cells. The Ukam fibres was purchased from Juneng Nigeria Limited, Nsukka and Polyester resins, Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Cobalt octane, Methyl ethyl Ketone Peroxide (MEKP), Sodium hy- droxide, acetic acid, silane, Benzoyl chloride and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) was supplied by Moore Chemicals, Zaria, Nigeria. 2.2 Fibre Surface Treatment In this study, both untreated and chemically treated fibres were used for analysis and property characterization of the natural plant fibres. The fibres were chopped into 100 mm length before giving the treatment. The chopped strand fibre bundles were subjected to different surface treatments with alkali, silane solution, KMno4 and acetic anhydride to investi- gate the variation in the properties after treatment. The con- centration of chemicals and soaking time are the key factor affecting treatment. I IJSER