MECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF ABACA-GLASS-BANANA FIBRE REINFORCED HYBRID COMPOSITES

Abstract

Hybrid composites comprising of natural and synthetic fibres with phenolic resin is one of the present composite manufacturing techniques for achieving enhanced mechanical properties. In this study Abaca-banana-glass composites has been fabricated and its mechanical properties were analysed. Tensile, flexural and impact strength were investigated in the process of mechanical characterisation. Matrix material used is a phenolic resin of Ortho-Phthalic acid. The manufacture of the composite is done by hand layup technique where the fibre content is varied through volume fraction of 0.4 to 0.5. Setup is arranged in such a way that glass fibre is arranged on the top and bottom layers of the laminate which adds up strength and produces a better surface finish, where in the natural fibre is sandwiched in intermediate layers within the glass fibre. Fibre orientation and the detailed internal structure of matrix were studied by using SEM photography. The results showed that Abaca-banana-glass hybrid composite has better tensile property, Banana-glass composite has the best flexural property and Abaca-glass composite has the best impact property. The results obtained show a substantial increase in mechanical properties and hence these hybrid composites can be used as an effective alternative for synthetic fibres and can be used as an alternate for different industrial application.

Keywords

• Abaca-banana-glass composite
• Ortho-Phthalic acid
• SEM
• Hand lay-up technique