Nabilah Afiqah Mohd Radzuan*, Dulina Tholibon , Abu Bakar Sulong*,
Norhamidi Muhamad and Che Hassan Che Haron
Abstract: Automotive parts, including dashboards and trunk covers, are now fabricated through a
compression-molding process in order to produce lightweight products and optimize fuel
consumption. However, their mechanical strength is not compromised to avoid safety issues.
Therefore, this study investigates kenaf-fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites using a simple
combing approach to unidirectionally align kenaf fibers at 0°. The kenaf composite was found to
withstand a maximal temperature of 120 °C. The tensile and flexural strengths of the aligned kenaf
composites (50 and 90 MPa, respectively) were three times higher than those of the commercialized
Product T (between 39 and 30.5 MPa, respectively) at a temperature range of 90 to 120 °C. These
findings clearly showed that the mechanical properties of aligned kenaf fibers fabricated through
the combing technique were able to withstand high operating temperatures (120 °C), and could be
used as an alternative to other commercial natural-fiber products.