Evaluation of Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Banana/Aramid/E-Glass Powder Hybrid Composite Plate

Abstract

AbstractThe current study focuses on the production of epoxy composites reinforced with aramid, banana fiber, and E-glass powder, as well as the evolution of their mechanical and thermal properties. The composite specimens are composed of 15:30:5:50 volume fractions of unidirectional aramid fiber, unidirectional banana fiber, E-glass powder, and epoxy resin. Three specimens with different orientations such as 0º, 45º, and 90º of aramid and banana fibers were fabricated using hand lay-up method. The entire fabricated composite has four layers of the order of banana–aramid–aramid–banana fiber. The tensile and flexural properties are carried out experimentally based on ASTM D638 and ASTM D790 standard. From the tensile test, it is observed that 90º orientation of hybrid composite has better tensile strength than other two orientations. However, the 45º orientation of the hybrid composite outperforms the other two orientations in terms of flexural strength. According to TGA study, thermal stability of the composite was improved and in bar with epoxy resin even though natural fiber was present.KeywordsBanana fiberAramid fiberE-glass powderFiber orientationsThermogravimetric analysis