The Behavior of Banyan (B)/Banana (Ba) Fibers Reinforced Hybrid Composites Influenced by Chemical Treatment on Tensile, Bending and Water Absorption Behavior: An Experimental and FEA Investigation

Abstract

Natural fiber-based composites are highly prioritized in present industries due to their properties and benefits over synthetic fibers. Due to their biodegradable nature, banyan and banana fibers were used for the present work. This paper deals with an experimental and FEA investigation of the tensile and bending behavior of banyan (B) and banana (Ba)-reinforced composites with different volume fractions, such as 25B/25Ba, 30B/20Ba, and 35B/15Ba, with a 50% weight fraction of epoxy resin and different fiber orientations. The hybrid composites treated with a 5% NaOH solution have better results as compared to untreated hybrid composites, with a volume fraction of 30% banyan fibers and 20% banana fiber (30B/20Ba), giving greater tensile and flexural properties for both treated and untreated fiber composites when compared to other volume fraction composites at 0/0/0/0 orientation. The maximum tensile and bending strength was found in the 30B/20Ba volume fractions to be 63.37 MPa and 67.07 MPa, respectively. For treated fiber composites, water absorption increases with an increase in the duration of immersion in composites up to 144 h.