Use of regression models to study the factors affecting the tensile and compressive properties of banana bio-composites

Abstract

Banana pseudo-stem fibers were treated with 4% sodium hydroxide, and then combined with banana peels resin to design bio-composite material. The effect of selected factors (fiber volume fraction, bio-resin, and mass of glycerin) on tensile and compressive properties of banana bio-composites were investigated. The banana bio-composite exhibited tensile strength of 4.2 MPa, Young’s modulus of 12 MPa and compressive strength of 2.1 MPa using fiber volume fraction of 60% and bio-resin mass of 140 g. The mass of glycerin recorded a nonsignificant effect on the aforementioned properties of the bio-composites.

Keywords

• pseudo-stem fibers
• banana peels
• bio-resin
• bio-composites
• universal rotatable design
• tensile strength