Mechanical Property Evaluation of Banana Fibre Reinforced Composite

Abstract

Polymeric materials reinforced with synthetic fibres such as glass, carbon and aramid exhibit high stiffness and strength to weight ratio as compared to conventional materials like metals. The potential of using natural fibres as reinforcements in Polymer Matrix Composites (PMC) to replace conventional synthetic fibres in structural applications has been in focus in the recent times. Synthetic fibres are not biodegradable and the manufacturing of synthetic fibres releases harmful emissions to the atmosphere. In the present work PMC with banana fibres as reinforcement in epoxy resin as the matrix and mango fibres as additives has been studied. The specimens are fabricated using the hand lay- up process with different orientation to test the mechanical properties.