Kumar Pal Singh

Pankaj Jain

Kumar Sonu

Abstract

The present and future sights of commercial material are focusing on composite material due to its lightweight, low thermal expansion, and versatility. At the same time, the composite must be eco-friendly, so that it degrades easily. Green fibers are emerging as low cost and have a less environmental impact on their production due to its biodegradable characteristics. This thesis aims to produce Green composite material, where both fiber and matrix are from the natural source. Synthetic resin as matrix and banana fibers are used and its characteristics are studied. Also, to evaluate the effect of chemical modification on mechanical properties of banana fiber epoxy composites. Chemically treatment-induced such modification where fibers were immersed in 6% NaOH aqueous solution (w/v) for 2 hours at room temperature (1:15 fiber-to-solution weight ratio). The treated fiber was then washed thoroughly with distilled water to remove excess NaOH from the surface and oven-dried at 110 0 C. To study the mechanical properties of the composite, different volume fractions of fiber have been taken. These fibers were randomly distributed in the matrix. Usually, hand lay-up technique has been adopted for manufacturing the composites.

Keywords- Fiber-reinforced composites, natural fiber, chemical treatments, NaOH, epoxy resin, and hardener