Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Bamboo and Banana Hybrid Natural Fiber Reinforced Polyester Composites

Abstract

The increasing need for eco-friendly and sustainable materials has driven significant research into natural fiber composites. Aerospace and automobile industries have a very vast use of the fiber composite because of the ratio of weight to strength. The composite material also having more engineering usage than ever before. This study investigates the mechanical aspect of hybrid composites with bamboo and banana yarns in a polyester matrix. The hybridization of these fibers in an attempt to combine their individual benefits to achieve superior mechanical performance. The material sheets were manufactured using a hand lay-up technique followed by compression molding. Mechanical characterization, including modules like flexural and tensile strength, were performed to identify and evaluate the performance of the composites. This study targeted to investigate the effect of the hybridization of bamboo and banana natural fiber composite on mechanical properties. In the preparation of laminate; yarn form of bamboo and banana were used with different weight fractions of each laminate with 70% bamboo 30% banana, 30% bamboo 70% banana, and 50% bamboo 50% banana with polyester as matrix material. The results demonstrate that the hybridization in composites exhibit enhanced mechanical attributes compared to single fiber composites. All modules of tensile strength showed significant improvement respecting the synergistic effect of bamboo and banana fibers. Flexural strength also indicated notable enhancements, attributed to the better stress distribution and transfer amidst the fibers and the polyester matrix. The variance in mechanical properties is examined and assessed. The flexural and tensile strengths were tested using a universal testing machine.