Comparative Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Composites Reinforced with Short Fibers, Macro Particles, and Micro Particles

Abstract

The present investigation reports the mechanical properties of banana short fiber, macro particle, and micro particle reinforced epoxy composites. Mechanical properties, such as tensile, flexural, and impact strength, of three different composites were studied and compared based on the three different fiber contents (25 wt%, 30 wt%, and 35 wt%). The composites were prepared by a compression moulding method for which the mixture containing the reinforcing agents and resin matrix was prepare dusing a mechanical stirrer. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed the failure mechanism and the resulting damage that occurred in the composites. The short fiber composite with 35 wt% content showed the highest tensile strength (35.59 MPa), whereas the macro particle composite with 35 wt% content showed the highest flexural strength (67.16 MPa). In the case of the impact strength, both the short fiber and macro particle composites showed the highest impact strength (0.32 J). The mechanical properties of epoxy composites increased substantially with increase of content of reinforcing agents (short fiber, macro particle, and micro particle).