Development and physico-mechanical characterization of epoxy matrix biocomposite reinforced with multi-short Cynara scolymus fibers
Journal of Materials Research and Technology, cilt.45, ss.4789-4804, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 45
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.jmrt.2026.10.031
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Materials Research and Technology
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.4789-4804
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Cynara scolymus fibers, Epoxy resin, Mechanical properties, Physical properties, Statistical analysis
- İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
The aim of this study was to investigate the development and physico-mechanical evaluation of an epoxy matrix biocomposite reinforced with multi-short Cynara Scolymus fibers of lengths 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 cm, in a bid to bridge the gap in studies conducted in the millimeter scale and to statistically validate the results obtained. Fabrication of biocomposites was performed by the hand-lay-up gravity casting method, and the biocomposites were characterized by tensile tests (ASTM D638), three-point bending tests (ASTM D790), Charpy impact tests (ASTM D6110) and optical microscopy, SEM, EDX, and statistical analyses (Spearman correlation, Friedman test, Pareto-ANOVA). The effect of fiber length on tensile strength, flexural strength and impact toughness confirms that tensile strength is increased by about 35–40% and impact toughness by ∼20%.Mechanical characterization demonstrated that while initial reinforcement yields optimal performance at shorter fiber lengths, further increasing fiber length leads to a 40–50% reduction in flexural strength due to enhanced fiber curling, void formation, and poor matrix wetting at higher aspect ratios, driven by poor dispersion and fiber agglomeration. Statistical analysis shows that fiber length is a major factor (ρ from +0.85 to +0.90; p ' 0.05) in the tensile strength. The increase in fracture surface roughness was from 35 to 40% with 1.5 cm composites, which suggests improved mechanical interlocking, whereas SEM demonstrated that pull-out dominated at 0.5 cm and transitional at 1 cm, while EDX displayed distinct elemental composition profiles between the fibers (82.51wt% C, 17.25wt% O) and the epoxy matrix (56.49wt% C, 34.05wt% O). The lack of broad interdiffusion zones suggests that stress transfer is primarily governed by mechanical interlocking rather than extensive chemical grafting, though complementary FTIR/XPS analyses would be required to fully characterize molecular interactions at the interface. The study results indicate that longer fibres lead to higher tensile strength and impact resistance at the expense of flexural properties, which are affected by processing induced flaws; and that optimum load transfer between fibre and matrix would require better interfacial compatibility than is currently attainable.