Determining the optimal factors for forming containers from pineapple leaves using full factorial design of experiments

Abstract

This study aims to determine the optimal factors for molding containers from Pattawia pineapple leaves using a 2³ full factorial design and evaluating the physical property of water leakage resistance. It builds upon previous studies that did not specify a precise material ratio. The experiment investigated three factors affecting the molding process: the ratio of pineapple leaf fiber to binder, molding temperature, and molding pressure. Each factor had two levels, and the experiments were repeated three times at a significance level of 0.05 Minitab software was used for experimental planning and result analysis, focusing on the main effects and interaction effects of the three key factors. The purpose was to verify the statistical significance of these factors the results showed that the optimal conditions for molding containers from pineapple leaves were a 1:1 fiber-to-binder ratio, a temperature of 130°C, and a pressure of 8 bar, which provided the best resistance to water leakage. Statistically significant factors affecting water leakage resistance were the fiber-to-binder ratio (A) and the interaction between temperature (B) and pressure (C). A reduced regression model was developed as =89.58 + 59.42 A – 13.00 B + 13.83 C – 28.08 B×C The R² value of 73.11% indicates that the regression model satisfactorily explains the variance in the data.