Per: SARAH GABRIELLY BRANDAO DE SOUZA (UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO PARá), PALOMA SUELLEN LIMA DE SOUSA (UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO PARÁ), Joelly Vera Nascimento (universidade federal do pará), Emily de Fátima Pinheiro Botelho (universidade federal do pará), Damares Da Cruz Barbosa Nascimento (universidade federal do pará), Verônica Scarpini Candido (universidade federal do pará), Alisson Clay Rios da Silva (universidade federal do pará)
Abstract:
Faced with the need to meet the sustainable demands of today's world, composite materials have taken the lead when it comes to efficiently replacing synthetic and non-renewable materials. This was due to the possibility of engineering a matrix, generally polymeric, to a reinforcement from a natural source. Vegetable fibers are a clear example of this, and play an extremely important role as reinforcement due to their abundance, biodegradability and good weight/strength ratio. In Brazil, mainly in the Amazon region, there are numerous vegetable fibers that fit this application, such as Curauá (Ananas erectifoluis), a plant from the pineapple family. Therefore, the present work aims to carry out an investigation into the mechanical properties of composite materials produced from a polymeric matrix and reinforced with volumetric fractions of 5, 10 and 15% of curauá fibers compared to their full matrix. The specimens produced followed the specifications of the standards for tension, ASTM D638, and flexion, D790. Furthermore, based on the results obtained, there was statistical treatment using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey. Thus, it was possible to observe that, for the flexural test specimens, the addition of 15% fiber volume was the most efficient in relation to the matrix, adding an average flexural strength value of 82.60 MPa. For traction, the volumetric addition of fibers was efficient as reinforcement from the first fraction, of 5%, scaling up to 15%, where the highest average resistance was found, of 56.40 MPa. Therefore, it is notable how these composites reinforced with curauá fibers have great potential as reinforcement and a sustainable alternative.
