Tensile Properties and Potential Applications of Leucaena-Silicone Biocomposite

• Published in: Springer Proceedings in Materials
• Main Author: Hidzer M.H.; Abdullah A.H.; Wan Abdul Rahman W.M.N.; Ruslan F.A.; Mahmud J.
• Format: Book chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85189181228&doi=10.1007%2f978-981-99-9848-7_40&partnerID=40&md5=1509b2511f65fc06993abbea08827a88

The Leucaena plant possesses numerous medicinal properties and functionalities that make it highly valuable in the field of medicine. In order to harness this exceptional capability, Leucaena was incorporated into silicone rubber to create a biocomposite material. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influence of different Leucaena fibre contents (0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 wt%) on the tensile behaviour of silicone biocomposites. Tensile tests were conducted on the silicone biocomposites, which are soft composites, in accordance to the ASTM D412 standard. Due to the nonlinear and large-deformation characteristics of the material, the silicone biocomposites were assumed to be hyperelastic, and their tensile properties were quantified using the Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic constitutive equation. The findings show that the values of the Mooney-Rivlin material constants, C1 and C2, for the Leucaena-Silicone Biocomposite increased as the fibre content increased to 16 wt%, from 0.0423 to 0.0471 MPa for C1. The maximum elongation was seen in pure silicone, which experienced a hyperelastic stretch ratio of 13.27 before breaking. However, the stretch ratio dropped to 9.79 before fracture at 16 weight percent. Calculations revealed a 74% improvement in stiffness and a 26% drop in stretch ratio for the silicone biocomposite with 16 wt% fibre content. Thus, it can be concluded that the reinforcement of Leucaena fibre has a more pronounced effect on the stiffness rather than the elongation of silicone rubber under uniaxial tension. Lastly, the quantified properties are compared to those of other materials for benchmarking purposes and exploring potential applications. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2024.