Abstract
Enset and sisal fibers are among the most widely used reinforcement to fabricate natural fiber-based composite materials. Hand lay-up techniques were employed in this study to fabricate enset–sisal (E/S) hybrid fiber composite with volume ratios of 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, and 0/100 and constant polyester resin. The tensile, flexural, impact strength, water absorption and morphological properties of the fabricated composite were investigated experimentally. The effects of hybridization to volume ratio were determined and the results show that hybrid composites excel in mechanical properties, compared with single composites. For better mechanical properties, the enset fiber has been hybridized with sisal fiber. Tensile and flexural strengths were enhanced by 47.3% and 41.03%, respectively, at 50/50 E/S volume ratio compared with 100/0 E/S composite. The impact strength of sisal fiber composite was improved by adding enset fiber in the composites. The inherent benefits and limitations of these two fibers were balanced out by each other in a positive way. While sisal fiber helped the composite intermesh of tensile, flexural, and reduction of water absorption, enset ensured impact strength. Morphological analysis was carried out in order to observe the fracture behavior and fiber pull-out of the samples by means of scanning electron microscopy.
Highlights
Polymer-based composites reinforced with natural fibers are considered the alternative options to substitute the synthetic-based composite because they are cheaper, renewable, and environmentally friendly [1]
Because the mechanical performance of a composite material depends on the fiber loading, nature of the fibers and matrix, the bonding between fibers and the matrix as well as the fiber hybridization play important roles [4]
The hybridization of jute/sisal and jute/curaua impact properties were analyzed and the results showed that the properties in all hybrid composites are better when compared to pure jute [8]
Summary
Polymer-based composites reinforced with natural fibers are considered the alternative options to substitute the synthetic-based composite because they are cheaper, renewable, and environmentally friendly [1]. The investigation of the dynamic mechanical capabilities and water absorption characteristics of jute and sisal hybrid reinforced epoxy composites were reported [10], with the conclusion that natural fibers are better substitutes for synthetic fibers due to their exceptional mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of kenaf–pineapple leaf fiber-reinforced HDPE (highdensity polyethylene) composite has been studied and the result showed that pineapple leaf fiber increased the tensile and flexural strength, but kenaf fiber improved the impact strength and the water absorption. A similar study [15] reported on a manually operated hot compression banana/jute-fabricated composite mold and the result indicated that tensile and flexural strength enhanced up to a certain level of fiber loading, and impact strength was improved as the fiber volume increased. The results are expected to provide guide to get the optimum weight ratio to develop enset–sisal hybrid polyester composite
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