Effect of Siwak and Bamboo Fibers on Tensile Properties of Self-Cure Acrylic Resin Used for Denture Applications

The research investigated to determine enhancement in the tensile properties of self-cure acrylic resin reinforced with siwak fiber and bamboo fibers which were cut into 2, 6, and 12 mm lengths and used at three different concentrations of (3, 6, and 9 wt.%). The mixture of resin and fiber were cured at 2.5 bar and 55°C in a water bath for 30 min. The cured resin specimen tested for tensile properties (tensile strength, young modulus, elongation percentage at break) following the specification of ASTM No. 638. The results illustrated that the tensile strength and young modulus tended to be improved with fiber length and concentration, the largest values of tensile strength and young modulus for specimens reinforced with bamboo fibers are (72.4 MPa and 5.208 GPa) while for specimens reinforced with siwak fibers are (71 MPa and 4.9 GPa) at optimum condition of weight fraction (9%) and fiber length (12 mm) which was significantly higher than other formulations.