The Effect of Water Absorption on Woven Ramie Fiber Reinforced Composite

Natural fibers are widely used as reinforcement in composites and undergo development in the surrounding environment. However, natural fibers have a water-absorbing property that reduces the strength of the composite. The objective of this research was to analyze the percentage increase in water absorption of resin epoxy composite reinforced with woven ramie fibers. In this research, bisphenol a-epichlorohydrin resin epoxy and polyaminoamide hardener epoxy were utilized as the matrix with a volume fraction of 60:40. Various additions of cerepol pigment pastes (CPP) were made to the resin, specifically 5%, 7.5%, and 10%. The composite was fabricated using the hand layup method, molded in a mold with dimensions of 250mm x 250mm x 4mm, and immersed in seawater for 12 days. The results of the study indicated that the woven ramie fibers reinforced composites, both without CPP and with 5% CPP, and 10% CPP, experienced the highest percentages of water absorption, which were 1.34%, 1.28%, and 1.10%, respectively, while the lowest percentages of water absorption were 0.7%, 0.6%, and 0.75%.