Estudo das Propriedades Mecânicas de Biocompósito de Poliéster Reforçado por Fibra de Munguba (Pseudobombax munguba)

Abstract

The diversity of Amazonian flora makes the region conducive to the development of new polymer composites. This study evaluated the mechanical properties of polyester composites reinforced with short munguba fibers, randomly arranged, using the lowest possible level of technological processing. The polyester matrix used was pre-accelerated terephthalic with cobalt naphthenate, cured at room temperature with methyl-ethyl-ketone peroxide (MEK). Munguba fibers were manually extracted from native adult trees in the Curarí floodplain region, Amazonas. The composites were characterized through tensile tests and microstructural analysis. The results showed that tensile strength increased with fiber length (5mm - 9.61 MPa; 10mm - 12.16 MPa; 15mm - 19.91 MPa), with better alignment and uniformity of the fibers in the matrix.