Mechanical and thermal analysis of coir fiber reinforced jute/bamboo hybrid epoxy composites

Abstract

AbstractIn this current research study, nine different combinations of coir, jute, and bamboo reinforced epoxy composites were fabricated using casting technique. These composites were employed to mechanical tests such as flexural and impact tests, and analyzed the thermal stability through Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Moreover, the thermal conductivity and surface morphology was also studied for hybrid composites. The hybridization of more than one fiber with epoxy matrix resulted in better mechanical and thermal properties as compared to individual reinforcements, and this statement is agreed with the present research work as well as the research works reported in the literature. The hybrid composite with the maximum amount of jute fibers reinforcement with bamboo fiber (B2C0J8) exhibited maximum flexural and impact strengths of 92.521 MPa and 82.4 kJ/m2 respectively, which is due to the higher modulus and energy‐absorbing behavior of jute fibers, also it was an advantage of coir fibers absence having lower modulus and strength values. In thermal conductivity analysis, the marginal variations of values were observed with different volume fractions of fibers, and the maximum conductivity (0.317 W/m‐K) was obtained for B2C8J Composite having only coir and bamboo fiber reinforcements with epoxy matrix. The Thermogravimetric analysis results reveal that all nine types of hybrid composites possess nearly equal thermal stability, and slight variations in degradation temperatures were observed in the thermographs. The B2C1J7 hybrid composite was recommended for better mechanical and thermal properties, where it has 89.06 MPa of flexural strength, 78.6 kJ/m2 of impact strength, 0.233 W/m‐K of thermal conductivity and exhibited better surface morphology.