Research and development of kenaf core and gypsum for ceiling decorations

Lye, Melanie Chuok Xin (2021) Research and development of kenaf core and gypsum for ceiling decorations. Project Report. Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Natural fibers are commonly used as reinforcement in various industries and fields as they offer high mechanical performance and are environmentally friendly. This study explored on kenaf core that is used for reinforcing with gypsum for ceiling decoration application. Five different kenaf core sizes used in this research were 0.4 mm, 0.84 mm, 10mm, 20 mm, and 30 mm. The samples were later prepared by mixing a constant value of gypsum and kenaf core with an increased weight percentage from 10 % to 90 %. The mixtures are then mixed with water and poured into a plywood mould with a dimension of 320 mm x 300 mm x 10 mm. As the curing process is done, each sample is cut into a standard dimension for each mechanical testing according to the ASTM standard. Flexural test, compression test, and water absorption test were carried out to determine mechanical performance. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was then used to observe the fracture surface of each sample and analyze its physical characteristic. In the study, the overall results revealed that 50 % loading of 40 mesh kenaf core reinforced gypsum composite provided the best performance among all reinforced composites, which shows the highest flexural strength and modulus with 1.89 MPa and 1.48 kPa, respectively. However, due to budget concerns, the proposed kenaf core size and loading is 50 % loading of 20 mesh kenaf core as it is only slightly lower in performance than the 40 mesh kenaf core. In the compression test, 10 mm kenaf core reinforced gypsum composite reaches the highest compressive strength among all composites with 0.277 MPa. Other than that, the water absorption rate significantly increases as the amount of kenaf core is added more and the size of the kenaf core gets bigger. These have shown that the kenaf core has a great potential for offering environmentally friendly ceiling decoration applications with an improvement of flexural properties and compressive strength of the composite but also causes an increment of water uptake due to its hydrophilic nature.

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