Mechanical Properties Evaluation of Eucalyptus Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites Anil Kumar

The paper presents the evaluation of the mechanical properties (i.e.tensile, flexural and compression) of eucalyptus fiber reinforced composite, so as to explore the possibility of its usage as structural material in place of wood. Eucalyptus fiber is anatural fiber which has been used as a reinforcement material in polymer composites, due to its low density and good compression strength compared to other natural fibers. The composites were prepared with 10%, 15%, 20 % and 25 % fiber content (by volume) and the mechanical properties were studied. The Morphological properties of tensile fracture were studied using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Although eucalyptus fiber reinforced polymer composite showed higher tensile, flexural, compression strength and strain rate with increasing in fiber content, SEM micrographs showed that there is poor fiber/matrix adhesion