Durability and mechanical characteristics of unidirectional jute/banana and synthetic fiber reinforcement epoxy composite

Abstract

Corrosive environments affect the physical and mechanical properties of natural fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. In such a context, this study focuses on the durability and corrosive impact on the mechanical properties of bast fiber-based composites. Synthetic glass fiber, and aluminium foil were also used for hybridization. The composites and hybrids were made using unidirectional jute and banana-fiber mats. Composites were immersed in a NaCl solution to create a corrosive environment, and their mechanical properties were investigated. Hybridization with glass fiber has the lowest impact on corrosive conditions. However, in a saline environment, it substantially alters the mechanical properties of composite materials. XRD and SEM were also performed for dry samples, and samples immersed in pH 8. XRD analysis revealed that adding synthetic fiber to natural fiber decreases the crystallinity. Hence, this study shows that hybridizing bast fiber with glass fiber is a noble approach to use in corrosive environments. The experimental results were verified by finite element analysis using ABAQUS.

Keywords

• Natural fiber reinforced composite
• Corrosive environment
• FEM
• XRD
• SEM