his research work aimed to study the effects of the addition of sisal fiber and surface treatment by epoxy silane on the physical and thermal properties of polylactic acid (PLA). Specimens of PLA and unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite were processed by a compression molding machine and evaluated the physical and thermal properties by water absorption measurement and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis respectively. The result showed that water absorption tended to increase by adding sisal fiber whereas surface treatment of sisal fiber by epoxy silane improved water resistance of composites. The water absorption values at immersion time of 5 days were 0.89 1.13 and 1.26 % for PLA PLA/treated sisal fiber composite and PLA/untreated sisal fiber composite respectively. For thermal properties the addition of sisal fiber led to decreases in glass transition temperature and crystallinity. These were because the presence of continuous fiber might interfere with the crystallization of PLA. The surface treatment of continuous fiber with epoxy silane led to difficult crystallization. The good interfacial adhesion interrupted PLA alignment.

This work aimed to study the improvement of mechanical properties and cost reduction of biodegradable packaging made from polylactic acid (PLA) by using sisal fiber. Because sisal fiber as natural fiber is good mechanical properties biodegradable material and low cost. The variables studied were the addition of sisal fiber surface treatment with epoxy silane and fiber direction. Their effects were investigated by tensile flexural and impact testings and morphology analysis. The results suggested that the addition of sisal fiber increased Young’s modulus Flexural modulus and ultimate tensile stress whereas elongation at break and impact strength tended to decrease. For the effect of surface treatment it was found that tensile and flexural moduli increased with epoxy silane treatment but tensile flexural and impact strengths slightly changed. Surface treatment by epoxy silane led to good interfacial bonding by hydrogen bonding between oxirane ring of epoxy silane and hydroxyl group of PLA. The effect of fiber direction revealed that tensile properties of composite in fiber direction of 0o were higher than those of composite in fiber direction of 45o. Fiber direction did not affect flexural and impact properties.

Currently the automotive industry plays an important role on the economic growth in Thailand. As the same time the waste of automotive parts has increased as well. As a results the automotive parts made from three different natural fiber parts was studied consisting of hyacinths sugarcane and pineapple leaf fiber. By of 50 x 250 x 20 mm of mold dimension the specimens were produced under 700 W of heating stick and measured temperature by a K type of thermometer. There were 3 same proportion specimens made from: 1) sugar cane fiber: husk: latex adhesive 2) water hyacinth fiber: husk: latex adhesive 3) pineapple fiber: husk: latex adhesive in the ratio of 25:25:50 by weight which were formed under temperature between 100GC and 105°C at 5 MPa of pressure and leading to find out the bending moment ability. The test results show that the specimen made from sugar cane fiber has the highest value 5482.5 Nand 4061.11 N/mm2 of bending moment and bending stress respectively. It was more than specimen made of water hyacinth 29.84 % and pineapple fiber 65.01 %.

This research project has developed and produced natural fiber-reinforced cement tiles by incorporating natural fibers from para rubber leaves and torpedo grass and mixing them with cement and then compressed into a mold with dimensions of cube was 5 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm. The ratio of fiber and cement were 1:9 2:8 and 3:7 respectively. This study used both types of natural fibers including para rubber leaves and torpedo grass. This research found that torpedo grass mixed with cement in a ratio of 1:9 provided high quality of reinforced cement. The density of this sample was found 2.07 g/cm3. Moreover the dry shrinkage value and water absorption were 0.02% 0.10% respectively. The compressive strength was 64.25 kN or 0.23 MPa. In comparison with the standards of non-load bearing concrete blocks according to TIS 58-2530 the result shown that some experimental data are lower than criteria standard. Furthermore the adhesives (i.e. silica) are very important for the quality of natural fiber-reinforced cement

This research aims to compare the mechanical properties of materials made from hyacinth pineapple and sugarcane fibers and also to study the feasibility of producing automotive interior parts from natural fibers. The 9 specimens that made from natural fiber such as water hyacinth pineapple leaf fiber sugar can and husk and there are also three different binders: glue polymer and polymer plus hardener were produced. All of specimens were controlled mass and density. The specimens were classified into 2 types: 1) thin type with a size of 3.5x14x1 cm in order to test the flexibility 2) thick type with a size of 6.5x6.5x20 cm for testing the ability to absorb energy. The test results showed that the specimen produced from sugar cane and husk using adhesive bonding able to receive bending stress and modulus of elasticity more than other specimens up to 80.63% and 69.19% respectively. While the ability to absorb energy from work piece made from pineapple leaf fiber and husks using polymer bender was able to absorb energy more than other work pieces 51.58%.