The application of kenaf fiber reinforced polypropylene composite with clay particles for the interior panel of electrical vehicle

The obyective of this research is to investigate the bending and impact properties of polypropylene/kenaf composite with and without clay. The variables on this research were the composition of PP/kenaf and PP/kenaf/clay content. The result showed the increasing of fiber content on PP/kenaf composites increased the bending and impact strength. However, the PP/kenaf strength for 20% of fibers content was lower than the PP/kenaf with 10% of fiber content. The bonding and impact strength of the composites containing a lot of clay (less fibers) was lower than that of containing little clay (more fibers). On the PP/kenaf composites, the matrix (PP) bonded the kenaf well. But on the PP/kenaf/clay composites, there were some particles (clay) separating between PP and clay and it became the barrier problem of PP-fiber bonding.