Water Absorption Capacity of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) Pits Reinforced Epoxy Composites

The hydration behaviour of composites upon exposure to environmental conditions is an important issue. This could offer important information on the mechanical properties of such composite when used for outdoor applications. Immersion of composite in water for period of time is an effective way to investigate the moisture absorption behaviour of such composites. Date pits particles (150m) of filler loading 10, 20, 30, 40 & 50 wt % composites were prepared. Composites sheets were prepared via hand lay-up technique in a fabricated glass mould. The hydration capacity was determined by measuring water uptake of specimen at regular interval of 24hrs. Absorption tests were performed at room temperature of 25oC for 768hrs. The results showed that water absorption increases with the increase in wt % of the filler loading. In this paper, the absorption behaviour of date pits filler reinforced epoxy composites showed that the addition of 10 % filler weight into the matrix increased the water absorption of the composite by 0.33 % after 24hrs of immersion while increasing the filler content by 50 % weight increased the percentage absorption to 1.12. The highest value of 9.312 % was recorded for composite of 50 % filler ratio after 768hrs. The water absorption of date pits reinforced epoxy composites was found to follow a Fickian behaviour where it did reach equilibrium.