Influence of Khas Khas Grass/Mesquite Bark Fillers on the Mechanical, Hydrophobicity Behavior and Thermal Stability of Banana Fibers Reinforced Hybrid Epoxy Composites

• Published in: Fibers and polymers Vol. 24; no. 12; pp. 4371 - 4381
• Main Authors: Sri, S. Vidhya, M.Balasubramanian, Kumar, S. Sathees
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Korean Fiber Society 01.12.2023; Springer Nature B.V; 한국섬유공학회
• Subjects: Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Energy absorption; Epoxy matrix composites; Fiber composites; Fillers; Flexural strength; Grasses; High temperature; Hybrid composites; Hydrophobicity; Interface stability; Interfacial bonding; Mesquite; Modulus of rupture in bending; Polymer Sciences; Regular Article; Synthetic fibers; Thermal stability; Thermodynamic properties; Thermogravimetric analysis; Water intakes; 섬유공학; Khas Khas grass; Hydrophobicity; Epoxy; Mesquite bark powder; Banana; TGA
• ISSN: 1229-9197; 1875-0052
• DOI: 10.1007/s12221-023-00347-w

Natural fiber composites may appear as a new replacement engineering material that can replace the use of synthetic fiber composites due to their exceptional and extensive range of variability. The outcome of the work is to transform green waste into useful green hybrid composites for a variety of applications. The aim of the present study is to determine how the fibers, such as Banana fibers, Khas Khas grass, and Mesquite bark powder (filler), affect the load-bearing, water intake, and thermal behavior of epoxy matrix composites. Mechanical, thermal, and moisture intake attributes of the composites were analyzed to identify the effectiveness of reinforcements. It is noted that the GHS-3 was found to have the highest tensile and flexural strengths of 116 and 159 MPa. The optimum impact and the hardness properties were observed on the addition of 20 wt. % of khas khas fibers. However, a more than 20 wt% inclusion of khas khas fibers and less than 10 wt% Mesquite bark powder in the resin reduced the load-bearing, bending, energy absorption, and permanent deformation capacity. The performance of the green hybrid composites at high temperatures was demonstrated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), which also revealed that the improved interfacial bonding was a result of the greater thermal stability. As a result, the hybrid green composite material has strong mechanical, hydrophobicity, and thermal qualities. It can be useful in a variety of applications in place of conventional natural fibers.