Abstract
The present study investigates the environmental durability, mechanical performance, creep behaviour, and moisture resistance of MPS silane-treated Kender-N fiber/PVC core reinforced vinyl ester hybrid composites incorporated with nutmeg husk-derived biochar. The composites were fabricated using hand layup followed by compression molding and post-curing to obtain structurally stable laminates. Surface treatment using (3-methacryloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPS) was applied to both the Kender-N fibers and PVC core to enhance interfacial adhesion, moisture resistance, and long-term durability. The developed composites were exposed to different aging environments, including warm water, tap water, distilled water, and seawater immersion for 7 days to evaluate environmental degradation behaviour. The results revealed that moisture exposure significantly affected the mechanical and viscoelastic properties due to matrix plasticization, hydrothermal swelling, interfacial debonding, and microcrack formation. Among all aging conditions, the distilled water-aged composite exhibited superior performance, showing tensile, flexural, and impact strength improvements of approximately 10.3%, 12.1%, and 13.0%, respectively, compared with the warm water-aged composite. In creep analysis, the distilled water-aged composite showed the lowest creep strain value of 0.00791 at 15,000 s, corresponding to nearly 15.9% lower deformation. Water absorption was also reduced by approximately 32.5%, indicating enhanced dimensional stability and resistance to moisture diffusion. FESEM analysis confirmed improved matrix encapsulation and reduced interfacial degradation due to silane treatment. The developed hybrid composites demonstrate strong potential for lightweight marine, automotive, transportation, and sustainable infrastructure applications requiring long-term environmental durability and mechanical reliability.
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