Banana biofiber and glass fiber reinforced hybrid composite for lightweight structural applications: mechanical, thermal, and microstructural characterization

To address the global environmental pollution problems, the application of biodegradable agricultural waste as a reinforcing material in the development of composite materials is one of the prominent solutions for sustainable development. Following that in the present investigation, a hybrid epoxy–based composite is fabricated using banana and glass fibers as reinforcing materials for lightweight structural applications. The main purpose of this research article is to utilize banana fiber (a biodegradable agricultural waste) as a reinforcing material in composite fabrication because of its low cost, non-abrasive, and eco-friendly nature. Herein, the fabricated composite material was characterized by various tests such as tensile, flexural, hardness, impact, thermal conductivity, and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of volume fraction and sequence of banana and glass fiber layers on mechanical properties such as tensile strength, hardness, flexural, and impact strengths were also investigated. Our results showed that for sample with alternating layer of banana and glass fibers and 1 wt.% charcoal, the epoxy-based composite exhibited the highest tensile, flexural and impact strengths of about 80.9 N/mm 2 , 145.4 N/mm 2 , and 3.5 kJ/m 2 , respectively. The same sample also reported the highest hardness of 56 VH. Furthermore, with the addition of banana fibers, the thermal conductivity of the laminates also increased. This enhancement in the mechanical and thermal properties with amalgamation of biodegradable banana fiber, strong glass fiber and water-resistant epoxy resin may help in manufacturing of lightweight composite domains for automobile and structural applications.