B. TECH.

THESIS 2014

STUDY ON MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF BANANA

FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
OF
Bachelor of Technology
In
Mechanical Engineering
By
SUJEET KUMAR
110ME0298

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ROURKELA 769008
B. TECH. THESIS 2014

STUDY ON MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF BANANA

FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

BY
SUJEET KUMAR
(110ME0298)

Under the guidance of

Prof. Sandhyarani Biswas

Department of Mechanical Engineering

National Institute of Technology, Rourkela

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ROURKELA 769008
MAY 2014
B. TECH. THESIS 2014

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ROURKELA 769008

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the thesis entitled “Study on Mechanical behaviour of Banana Fiber

Reinforced Epoxy Composites” being submitted by Sujeet kumar (110ME0298) in partial

fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Technology in the department of

Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela is an authentic work carried

out under my supervision and guidance.

To the best of my knowledge, the matter embodied in the thesis has not been submitted to

elsewhere for the award of any degree.

Place: Rourkela Prof. Sandhyarani Biswas

Date Mechanical Engineering Department

National Institute of Technology, Rourkela

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B. TECH. THESIS 2014

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ROURKELA 769008

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Sandhyarani Biswas

Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, for her excellent guidance,

constant inspiration, and motivation above all for her ever co-operating attitude that enabled me

in carrying up this thesis in the current form.

I also wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to Dr. K. P. Maity, HOD, Mechanical

Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela for providing us an opportunity to work

on this project and respected departmental facilities.

I am greatly thankful to all the staff members of the mechanical department and my entire well-

wishers, friends and class mates for their inspiration and help.

Place: Rourkela Sujeet Kumar

Date: B. Tech. (Roll: 110ME0298)

Mechanical Engineering Department

National Institute of Technology, Rourkela

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B. TECH. THESIS 2014

CONTENTS

Chapter Description Page

no.
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1-5
1.1. Overview of Composites material 1-5
Chapter 2 2.1. Literature Survey 6-9
2.2. Objectives of the Current Research Work 9
Chapter 3 MATERIALS AND METHODS 10-14
3.1. Specimen Preparation Method 10-11
3.2. Testing of Mechanical Properties of Composites 12-14
Chapter 4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION 15-17
4.1. Mechanical Properties of Composites 15
4.1.1. Influence of Fiber Parameters on Tensile Strength 15
4.1.2. Influence of Fiber Parameters on Flexural Strength 16
4.1.3 Influence of Fiber Parameters on Impact Strength 16
4.1.4 Influence of Fiber Parameters on Hardness 17
Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS 18
REFERENCES 19-22

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Composition of few commonly used natural fibers

Table 3.1 Designation and Composition of Composites

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1 Fabricated short banana fiber reinforced epoxy composites

Figure 3.2 Experimental set up for tensile test

Figure 3.3 Three point bend test loading arrangement

Figure 3.4 Experimental set up for impact strength test

Figure 3.5 Experimental set up for hardness test

Figure 4.1 Influence of fiber parameters on tensile strength.

Figure 4.2 Influence of fiber parameters on flexural strength of composites.

Figure 4.3 Influence of fiber parameters on impact energy of composites.

Figure 4.4 Influence of fiber parameters on hardness of the composites.

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ABSTRACT

World is as of now concentrating on alternate material sources that are environment agreeable

and biodegradable in nature. Because of the expanding natural concerns, bio composite

produced out of regular fiber and polymeric resin, is one of the late advancements in the

business and constitutes the present extent of experimental work. The use of composite

materials field is increasing gradually in engineering. The composite consists of mainly two

phases i.e. matrix and fiber. The accessibility of characteristic fiber and simplicity of assembling

have enticed scientists worldwide to attempt by regional standards accessible inexpensive fiber

and to learning their achievability of fortification determinations and to what degree they fulfill

the obliged particulars of great strengthened polymer composite aimed at structural requisition.

Fiber reinforced polymer composites has numerous preferences, for example, generally minimal

effort of creation, simple to create and better quality contrast than perfect polymer tars due

with this reason fiber strengthened polymer composite utilized within an assortment of

provision as class of structure material. This work describe the mechanical behavior of banana

fiber reinforced polymer composite with the extraordinary references to the impact of fiber

loading and length of fiber on the properties of composites.

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview of fiber and Composites

The attraction in utilizing natural fiber, for example, distinctive wood fiber and plant fiber as

support in plastics has expanded drastically throughout last few years. Concerning the ecological

viewpoints if natural fibers might be utilized rather than glass fibers as fortification in some

structural provisions it might be extremely intriguing. Natural fibers have numerous points of

interest contrasted with glass fiber, for instance they have low thickness, and they are

biodegradable and recyclable. Also they are renewable crude materials and have generally great

strength and stiffness.

Natural fibers are classified on the basis of the origin of source, into three types

1. Plant Fibers

2. Mineral Fibers

3. Animal Fibers

1. Plant Fibers: Plant fibers are usually consists of cellulose: examples cotton, jute, bamboo,

flax, ramie, hemp, coir and sisal. Cellulose fibers are used in various applications. The category

of these fibers is as following: Seed fibers are those which obtain from the seed e.g. Kapok and

cotton. These fibers having superior tensile properties than the other fibers. Because of these

reason these fibers are used in many applications such as packaging, paper and fabric. Fruit

fibers are the fibers generally are obtain from the fruit of the plant, e.g. banana fiber and coconut

fiber. Similarly, stalk fiber are the fibers which are obtain from the stalks (rice straws, bamboo,

wheat and barley). Leaf fibers are the fibers those are obtain from the leaves (agave and sisal).

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Skin fibers are those fibers which are obtain from the bast or skin surrounding the stem of the

plant.

2. Mineral Fibers: Mineral fibers are those which are get from minerals. These are naturally

happening fiber or somewhat changed fiber. It has different classifications they are taking after:

Asbestos is the main characteristically happening mineral fiber. The Variations in mineral fiber

are the serpentine, amphiboles and anthophyllite. The Ceramic filaments are glass fiber,

aluminum oxide and boron carbide. Metal filaments incorporate aluminums strands.

3. Animal Fibers: Animal fiber by and large comprises of proteins; cases, silk, alpaca, mohair,

downy. Animal hair are the strands got from creatures e.g. Sheep's downy, goat hair, horse hair,

alpaca hair, and so forth. Silk fiber is the filaments gathered from dry saliva of bugs or creepy

crawlies throughout the time of planning of cocoons. Avian strands are the fiber from fowls [1].

Composites of natural fiber used for drives of structural, but typically with synthetic thermoset

matrix which of course bound the environmental benefits. Now a days natural fiber composites

application are usually found in building and automotive industry and the place where

dimensional constancy under moist and high thermal conditions and load bearing capacity are of

importance [2,3]. Natural fibers like cotton, sisal, jute, abaca, pineapple and coir have already

been studied like a reinforcement and filler in composites. Among various natural fibers, banana

fiber is considered as a potential reinforced in polymer composites due to its many advantages

such as easy availability, low cost, comparable strength properties etc. Generally, natural fibers

are consists of cellulose, lignin, pectin etc. The detail composition of few commonly used natural

fibers are shown in Table 1.1.

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Table 1.1 Composition of few commonly used natural fibers [4]

Fiber Cellulose Hemicellulose Lignin Pectin Moisture Waxes
(wt%) (wt%) (wt%) (wt%) (wt%)
Cotton 85-90 5.7 - 0-1 7.85-8.5 0.6
Bamboo 60.8 0.5 32 - - -
Flax 71 18.6-20.6 2.3 2.2 8-12 1.7
Hemp 70-74 17.9-20.4 3.7-5.7 0.9 6.2-12 0.8
Jute 61.1-71.5 13.6-20.4 12-13 0.2 12.5-13.7 0.5
Kenaf 45-47 21.5 8-13 3-5 - -
Ramie 68.6-76.2 13.1-16.7 0.6-0.7 1.9 7.5-17 0.3
Sisal 66-78 10-14 10-14 10 10-22 2
Coir 32-43 0.15-0.25 40-45 3-4 8
Banana 63-64 19 5 - 10-12 -

The composite materials could be termed as those materials which are synthesized by two or

more materials having diverse properties. By and large, composites materials have strong load

carrying reinforcing material imbedded in weaker lattice materials. The primary constituent of

composites have a nonstop stage which is the significant a piece of the composite is called

matrix. Matrix are by and large more ductile and less hard and these are generally either

inorganic or natural. Optional constituent of composites have ductile called reinforcement and

they are implanted in the matrix. The constituents of composite materials have their property

however when they are consolidated together, they give a blend of properties that a singular can't

have the capacity to give. Generally, composite materials are arranged on the basis of matrix

materials as:

1. Ceramic Matrix Composites

2. Polymer Matrix Composites

3. Metal Matrix Composites

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B. TECH. THESIS 2014

Ceramic matrix composite: The composite which is consisting of a ceramic combined with a

ceramic dispersed phase. Because of availability of new technologies, the demand for high

performance products and processing methods, have together improve the growth of advanced

ceramic products, but brittleness of ceramics still retain a major disadvantage.

Polymer matrix composite: Polymer matrix composites are recognized to be a more conspicuous

class of composites when contrasted with artistic or metal lattice composites once in business

requisitions. It includes a matrix from thermoplastic (polystyrene, nylon) or thermosetting

(epoxy, unsaturated polyester) or and inserted steel, glass carbon, or Kevlar strands.

Metal matrix composite: Composites consisting of metal matrix such as Mg, Al, Fe is called

metal matrix composites. The interest in metal matrix composites is due to many reasons such as

their engineering properties. They are of exhibit good stiffness, light weight, and low specific

weight as compared to other metal alloys and metals. Although it has many advantages, low cost

remains a major point of interest for many applications.

Among these all types of composites, polymer matrix composite is most commonly used

composites, because of its advantages such as high strength, low cost, simple manufacturing

principle. The requirement of polymer material in this modern dynamic world is increasing day

by day because it has wide range of advantages over traditional material in terms of high strength

to weight ratio, cost, high toughness, high tensile strength and high creep resistance at increases

in temperatures. Polymer matrix composites have three types of polymer which have been used

as matrix. These are thermoplastics, thermosetting and elastomer polymer.

Thermoplastic polymer is that polymer which are over and again diminished and transformed

by heating. A few illustrations of thermoplastics are PVC, LDPE and HDPE. Thermoplastic

materials are shaped when they are in softened or melted. Thermoplastic have numerous

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B. TECH. THESIS 2014

properties, for example, light weight, low thickness, which are relying on science they could be

similar to elastic, and strong as aluminum.

Thermosetting polymer is the polymer which has hard and firm cross-interfaced materials.

They are not moldable when and soften when they are warmed. Epoxy is the most normally

utilized thermosetting polymer. They have numerous advantages, for example, better grip to

different materials, great mechanical properties, and great electrical protection.

Elastomer is a kind of polymer is determined from flexible polymer, is frequently utilized

reciprocally with the term elastic, despite the fact that the last is favored when alluding to

vulcanizes. Elastomers have numerous properties which having low density and high

disappointment strain compare with other material.

The other sort of constituents of composites is reinforcements. Reinforcements are generally

used to upgrade general mechanical properties of matrix and offer quality to composites. The

reinforcement in composites is either fibrous or non-fibrous. Again fibrous composites are either

natural fiber reinforced or synthetic fiber reinforced composites. There are many factors

affecting the properties of fiber reinforced polymer composites such as fiber parameters, matrix

fiber-matrix interfacial bonding etc. A great deal of work has been done on the different kinds of

natural fiber based polymer composites [5]. The objective of the present work is to study the

potential utilization of banana fiber as a reinforcing material in epoxy composites and to

investigate their mechanical behavior.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY

2.1. Literature Survey

This chapter outlines some work and report available in past related to mechanical properties of

natural fiber based polymer composites with unique consideration on banana fiber based polymer

composites.

The mechanical behaviour of a natural fiber based polymer composite depends on numerous

factors, for example, fiber length and quality, matrix, fiber-matrix adhesion bond quality and so

forth. The strong interface bond between fiber and matrix is paramount to show signs of

improvement mechanical properties of composites. Merlini et al. [6] have studied the effect

surface treatment on the chemical properties of banana fiber and reported that treated banana

fiber give higher shear interfacial stress and tensile strength when compared with the untreated

fiber. Dhieb et al. [7] have studied about the surface and sub-surface degradation of

unidirectional carbon fiber and have given many conclusion such as under sliding in

demineralized water, the most simple degradation was detected on sliding in anti-parallel

direction. Shankar et al. [8] have studied and reported that the ultimate tensile strength value

maximum at 15% and then decreases with increasing in fiber starting from 15% to 20%. They

also reported that the flexural strength value decreasing from 5% to 10% (87.31 MPa) and after

that the value increased from fiber. Sumaila et al. [9] have investigated the influence of fiber

length on the mechanical and physical properties of nonwoven short banana, random oriented

fiber and epoxy composite and they described that the tensile properties and percentage

elongation of the composite attained a maximum in composite fabricated from 15 mm fiber

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length. They have also reported that the impact energy whereas the compressive strength

increases decreased with increasing fiber length, also the mean flexural properties of the

composite increased with increasing in fiber length up to 25mm. The banana fibers characteristic

depending on the variation of diameter, mechanical characteristic and the effects of the stresses

performing on the fracture morphology. The stress-strain curves for changed strain rates were

found and fractured surfaces were inspected by SEM [10]. Pothan et al. [11] have investigated on

the influence of fiber content and length on short banana fiber reinforced polyester composite

material. Laban et al. [12] has studied on the physical and mechanical behavior of banana fiber

reinforced polymer composite and noticed that kraft mashed banana fiber material has better

flexural strength. The tensile strength is detected maximum at 30 mm fiber length whereas the

impact strength is noticed maximum at 40 mm length of fiber. Consolidation of 40% untreated

banana fibers gives 20% rise in the tensile strength and 34% rise in impact strength. Prasanna

and Subbaiah [13] reported that composites material having 20% treated fiber loading possess

maximum values for above-mentioned properties than untreated composites, 10% and also 30%

treated fibers composites. The interfacial area having main role in influential the strength of

polymer material since fiber procedures a separate interface with the matrix. The effects of this

study uncovered that short zig-zag fiber composites with great rigidity and element mechanical

properties might be effectively ready utilizing banana fiber as reinforcement in a polyurethane

matrix inferred from castor oil. The treated banana fiber demonstrated higher shear stress and

tensile strength when contrasted with the untreated fiber, showing a solid association between the

treated strands and the polyurethane matrix [6]. The hybridization of these reinforcement in the

composite shows more terrific flexural quality when contrasted with singular kind of

characteristic strands strengthened composites. All the composites shows expand in flexural

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quality in longitudinal heading. Comparable patterns have been watched for flexural modulus,

entomb laminar shear quality and break burden values [14]. There are many researches who have

evaluated the mechanical, chemical and physical behavior and banana fiber reinforced with

epoxy composite. Many studied and compared of effect of treated and untreated banana fiber

reinforced with thermoplastic and thermosetting polymer [15-19]. Joseph et al. [20] studied and

compared the mechanical behavior of phenol formaldehyde composites which was reinforced

with glass fiber and banana fiber. Selzer and Friedrich et al. [21] studied the carbon fiber

reinforced polymer composites and reported that the brittle materials demonstrate a lot of

delamination’s also interlinear splitting throughout weariness. The disappointment of this

material was dictated by a restriction of disappointment. This implies that in composites with a

exceptionally intense grid and great fiber-network bond, various splitting, which ingests a higher

measure of vitality, is anticipated, with the goal that at last confined disappointment happens at

easier levels than anticipated. There is wide range of research in these fields; many researchers

have investigated the natural fiber composite reinforced with various type of polymer [22-24].

The banana and glass fiber bio-composites may be fabricate for outdoors and indoors

applications wherever high strength is not necessary, additionally it can considered as the

replacement to wood materials and protect the forest resources [25]. Maleque et al. [26] have

studied the mechanical properties of banana fiber based epoxy composite and it was observed

that the tensile strength is increased by 90% of the pseudo-stem banana fiber reinforced epoxy

composite associated to virgin epoxy. In his results the impact strength of pseudo-stem banana

fiber improved by approximately 40% compare to the impact strength of neat epoxy. The impact

strength value is higher which indications to higher toughness value of the material. They are

also reported that when banana woven fiber was used with epoxy material then the flexural

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strength increased. There are many reports available on the mechanical and physical properties

of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites, but, the effect of fiber length on mechanical

behavior of banana fiber reinforced polymer composites is scarcely been reported. To this end,

the current work has undertaken with the objectives to investigate the mechanical properties of

banana fiber based epoxy composites.

2.2. Objectives of the Current Research Work

The main objectives of current research work which are outlined as follows:

1. Fabrication of short banana fiber based epoxy composites.

2. Evaluate the mechanical properties such as impact strength, tensile strength, flexural strength

and hardness of fabricated composites.

3. To study their influence of fiber loading and fiber length on mechanical properties of

composites.

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B. TECH. THESIS 2014

CHAPTER 3
MATERIALS AND METHODS

This chapter consists of two parts

(1) Details of processing of the specimen preparation.

(2) Testing of mechanical properties of composites

The materials used are:

 Banana fiber

 Epoxy

 Hardener

3.1. Specimen Preparation Method

The banana fiber (Figure 3.1) is obtained from banana plant, which has been collected from local

sources. The extracted banana fiber were subsequently sun dried for eight hours then dried in

oven for 24 hours at 105° C to remove free water present in the fiber. The dried fiber were

subsequently cut into lengths of 5, 10, 15 mm. The epoxy resins and hardener are procured from

Ciba Geigy India Ltd. The banana fiber based epoxy composite is fabricated using hand lay-up

process. The moulds have been prepared with dimensions of 180×180×40 mm3. The banana fiber

of different length has been mixed with matrix mixture with their respective values by simple

mechanical stirring and mixture are slowly poured in different moulds, keeping the

characterization standards and view on testing condition. The releasing agent has been use on

mould sheet which give easy to composites removal from the mould after curing the composites.

A sliding roller has been used to remove the trapped air from the uncured composite and mould

has been closed at temperature 30° C duration 24 hour. The constant load of 50 kg is applied on

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the mould in which the mixture of the banana, epoxy resin and hardener has been poured. After

curing, the specimen has been taken out from the mould. The composite material has been cut in

suitable dimensions with help of zig saw for mechanical tests as per the ASTM standards. The

designation and detail composition of composites is shown in Table 3.1. The fabricated short

banana fiber based epoxy composite is shown in Figure 3.1.

Table 3.1 Designation and Composition of Composites

Designation Composition
C1 Fiber length (5 mm) (10 wt%) + Epoxy (90 wt%)
C2 Fiber length (5 mm) (15 wt%) + Epoxy (85 wt%)
C3 Fiber length (5 mm) (20 wt%) + Epoxy (80 wt%)
C4 Fiber length (10 mm) (10 wt%) + Epoxy (90 wt%)
C5 Fiber length (10 mm) (15 wt%) + Epoxy (85 wt%)
C6 Fiber length (10 mm) (20 wt%) + Epoxy (80 wt%)
C7 Fiber length (15 mm) (10 wt%) + Epoxy (90 wt%)
C8 Fiber length (15 mm) (15 wt%) + Epoxy (85 wt%)
C9 Fiber length (15 mm) (20 wt%) + Epoxy (80 wt%)

Figure 3.1 Fabricated short banana fiber reinforced epoxy composites

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3.2 Testing of Mechanical Properties of Composites

Tensile Strength Test

Fabricated composite was cut to get the desired dimension of specimen for mechanical testing.

For the tensile test, the specimen size was 150 × 15 mm2 and gauge length was 70 mm. Tensile

strength was tested in Instron machine. The specimen with desired dimension was fixed in the

grips of the Instron machine with 7 mm gauge length. The experimental set up for tensile test is

shown in Figure 3.2.

Figure 3.2 Experimental set up for tensile test

Flexural Strength Test

Specimen dimension for flexural test was 100 mm × 15 mm × 70 mm and three point bend test

method was used for finding the flexural strength using Universal Testing Machine Instron 1195.

The loading arrangement for flexural strength is shown in Figure 3.3

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B. TECH. THESIS 2014

Figure 3.3 Three point bend test loading arrangement

Impact Strength Test

Specimen dimension for impact test was 60 mm × 15 mm. Impact testing was conducted in

impact testing machine.

Figure 3.4 Experimental set up for Impact strength test.

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Izod impact testing is a method of determining the impact resistance of composites. In impact

test, an arm held at a specific height is released during the testing. The arm impacted on the

sample and breaks the sample. Its impact energy is obtained from the energy absorbed by the

composite or sample. The experimental set up for impact test is shown in Figure 3.4.

Hardness Test

Fabricated composite was cut in dimension of 20 mm × 20 mm for hardness test. The hardness

test was conducted in Vickers hardness test machine. The load was applied 0.3 kgf on the

composite and the holding time was 10 second. Hardness is defined as the ability to oppose to

indentation, which is obtained by measuring the stable depth of the indentation. In the Vickers

hardness test a square base pyramid shaped diamond is used for testing. The experimental set up

for hardness test is shown in Figure 3.5.

Figure 3.5 Experimental set up for hardness test

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CHAPTER 4
RESULTS & DISCUSSION

This chapter deal with mechanical properties of the banana fiber based epoxy composites.

4.1 Mechanical Properties of Composites

Mechanical properties of composites such as flexural strength, tensile strength, hardness and

impact strength has been investigated and also discussed. The mechanical properties of the

composite are mainly depending on many factors such as fiber content and length.

4.1.1 Influence of Fiber Parameters on Tensile strength

The mechanical behavior of the banana fiber based epoxy composites depends on fiber

parameters. The influence of fiber length and loading on tensile properties of composites is

shown in Figures 4.1. It has been observed that the tensile strength of composites increases with

increase in fiber length and loading.

Figure 4.1 Influence of fiber parameters on tensile strength

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4.1.2 Influence of Fiber Parameters on Flexural Strength

The influence of fiber length and loading on flexural strength of fabricated composites is shown

in Figure 4.2. In figure it is show that when fiber length increases the flexural strength of the

fabricated composites first increases up to 10 mm length and then decreases. When fiber loading

increase then flexural strength increase up to fiber loading 15% then decreases. The maximum

flexural strength is observed when fiber length is 10 mm and loading is 15%.

Figure 4.2 Influence of fiber parameters on flexural strength of composites

4.1.3 Influence of Fiber Parameter on Impact Strength

The test results for impact energy are shown in Figures 4.3. From the figure it is observed that

the impact energy is increases with increase in fiber length. It also show that the impact energy

increases with increases in fiber loading. The maximum impact energy absorbed by the material

15 mm length of fiber and 20% fiber content.

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Figure 4.3 Influence of fiber parameters on Impact energy of composites

4.1.4 Influence of Fiber Parameters on Hardness

The hardness values of composites are show in Figure 4.4. It can be understood from the figure

that the hardness value increases with increase in fiber length and it is maximum at 10 mm fiber

length. However, with increase of fiber loading hardness value increases up to fiber loading 15

wt% then the hardness value decreases.

Figure 4.4 Influence of fiber parameters on hardness of the composites.

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CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS

This experimental examination of mechanical behaviour of banana fiber based epoxy composites

indicates to the many conclusions:

 The fabrication of banana fiber based epoxy composites with different loading of fiber

and different lengths of fiber is possible by hand lay-up process.

 From the current experiments results, it has been observed that fiber loading and length

has major effect on the mechanical properties of the composites like as hardness, tensile

strength, flexural strength and impact strength.

 It has been observed that the better mechanical properties found for composites

reinforced with 10 mm fiber length with 15% fiber loading.

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REFERENCES

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Polypropylene Fibres, Polymer Testing, 25 (2006), pp. 142–148.

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Polyurethane Composites, Polymer Testing, 30 (2011), pp. 833–840.

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and Wet Reciprocating Sliding, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing,

55 (2013), pp. 53–62.

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Banana Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites, International Journal of Recent Trends in

Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 1, 2013, pp.1-10.

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Properties of Random Oriented, Nonwoven Short banana (Musa Balbisiana) Fiber/Epoxy

Composite, Asian Journal of Natural & Applied Sciences, 2 (2013), pp. 39-49.

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Fracture Behavior, Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics, 3(2008), pp. 39 –45.

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O., Life Cycle Assessment of Biofibers Replacing Glass Fibers as Reinforcement in

plastics, Resources Convertion and Recycling, 33(2001), pp. 267-287.

13. Prasanna G. V., Subbaiah, K. V., Modification, Flexural, Impact, Compressive Properties

& Chemical Resistance of Natural Fibers Reinforced Blend Composites, Malaysian

Polymer Journal, 8 (2013), pp. 38-44.

14. Madhukiran J., Rao S. S., Madhusudan S., Fabrication and Testing of Natural Fiber

Reinforced Hybrid Composites Banana/Pineapple, International Journal of Modern

Engineering Research, 3 (2013), pp. 2239-2243.

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Review, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, 29 (2010), pp. 2387-2396.

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