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Procedia Engineering 97 (2014) 2032 – 2041

12th GLOBAL CONGRESS ON MANUFACTURING AND MANAGEMENT, GCMM 2014

Fabrication and Property Evaluation of Banana-Hemp-Glass Fiber

Reinforced Composites
R. Bhoopathia, M. Ramesha,*, C. Deepab
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Sai Ram Engineering College,Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.
b
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Faculty of Computing, Sathyabama University,Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.

Abstract

The role of natural and manmade fibers reinforced hybrid composite materials are growing in a faster rate in the field of
engineering and technology due to its favorable properties. In the present unsustainable environmental condition natural fibers
are serving better material in terms of biodegradability, low cost, high strength and corrosion resistance when compared to
conventional materials. The benefits of components and products designed and produced in hybrid composite materials instead of
metals recognized by many industries. The main objective of this experimental study is to fabricate the banana-hemp-glass fibers
reinforced hybrid composites and to evaluate the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact
strength. There are three different types hybrid laminates are fabricated by hand lay-up method by using glass, banana and hemp
fibers as reinforcing material with epoxy resin. The specimen is prepared according to ASTM standards and the experiment has
been carried out by using universal testing machine (UTM). From the experimental results, it has been observed that the banana-
hemp-glass fibers reinforced hybrid epoxy composites exhibited superior properties and used as an alternate material for
synthetic fiber reinforced composite materials. Morphological examinations are carried out to analyze the interfacial
characteristics, internal structures, fiber failure mode and fractured surfaces by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
analysis.

© 2014
© 2014The TheAuthors.
Authors. Published
Published by Elsevier
by Elsevier Ltd.
Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of GCMM 2014.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of GCMM 2014

Keywords: Mechanical properties, Hybrid composites, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Banana-Hemp-Glass fiber composites.

1. Introduction

Now-a-days, natural fibers reinforced composites exhibit the superior mechanical properties than synthetic fiber
reinforced polymer composites due to its inherent properties. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength,

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-9444103890; fax: +91-44-22512229.

E-mail address: mramesh97@gmail.com

1877-7058 © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of GCMM 2014
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2014.12.446
 R. Bhoopathi et al. / Procedia Engineering 97 (2014) 2032 – 2041 2033

flexural and impact strengths of natural and synthetic fibers reinforced polymer composites with different fiber
volume were evaluated by Ramesh et al. [1]. The result indicated that, there is the significant improvement in
mechanical properties and the process of hybridization reduces the risks related to the environmental concern.
Sapuan et al.[2] fabricated the composites by using banana fiber is a waste product of banana cultivation and which
is easily available in tropical countries like malaysia and south india. This fiber has many advantages and holding
high mechanical strength when compared to the synthetic fibers. They have prepared three samples with different
geometries and evaluated the maximum stress value and young’s modulus along two directions and found the
maximum deflection under the maximum load conditions. Ramesh et al. [3] carried out an experiment to evaluate
the tensile and flexural properties of hybrid composites and the results are compared. Form the experiment, they
found that the incorporation of natural fibers such as sisal/jute with glass fiber improve the tensile and flexural
strength and these composites play a vital role in the field of engineering and technology. They suggested that these
hybrid composites can be used for medium strength applications.
Venkateshwaran et al. [4] studied the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength, impact
strength and water absorption rate of sisal and banana fibers reinforced epoxy composite materials. They have
observed that there is the significant improvement in mechanical strength and reduction in water absorption rate
while hybridizing the sisal fiber up to 50% by weight with banana fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The banana
and GFRP composites have good tensile property with minimum deflection when compared to the flax and GFRP
composites [5]. Also the banana and flax fiber reinforced composites holds more flexural and impact strengths when
compared to the flax and glass fiber reinforced polymer composites.
Natural fiber reinforced composites are renewable, biodegradable, environment friendly, light weight material
when compared to the synthetic fiber reinforced composites [6,7].The potential applications of these composites are
growing rapidly in many engineering fields especially the cost of the material is main factor and to improve erosive
environment [8, 9]. The mechanical properties of sodium hydroxide treated natural fiber composites under saturation
pressure can be improved without any major changes in mechanical behavior [10]. Yuanjian and Isaac [11] have
investigated the impact and fatigue behavior of non-woven hemp fiber composites which is reinforced with
polyester and found that there is the remarkable improvement in such properties.
Li [12] have evaluated and correlated the compressive strength, flexural strength, toughness, specific gravity and
water absorption rate of hemp fiber reinforced composites (HFRC) with different compositions. The water
absorbing ratio and the linear specific gravity of the composites are gradually reduced by adding the hemp fiber with
concrete matrix. They have observed that the fiber content by weight is the important factor which affects the
compressive and flexural strength of HFRC. Hemp fiber has superior reinforcement property while increasing
tensile property and strong toughness in an alkali environment [13, 14].
Kobayashi et al. [15] investigated the processing and characterization of hemp fiber textile composites with
micro-braiding technique and found that the hemp fiber is suitable reinforcement for textile composites. Kabir et al.
[16] studied the mechanical property of chemically treated hemp fiber reinforced composites. They found that due to
the rapid climate changes in environment, the physical and geometrical characteristics of natural fiber and synthetic
fiber components are affected and the fibers are undergoes some irregularities and lose the maximum load carrying
capacity of the materials in engineering applications. For better surface finish of the hemp fiber composites the
chemical treatment process like alkali, acetyl and silane treatments are carried out. From this study they have found
that the tensile strength of untreated fiber composites is much greater than the chemically treated fiber composites.
The natural fiber reinforced composites were fabricated with hemp/paper/epoxy and flax/paper/epoxy by adding
the paper on the both surfaces of hemp or flax unidirectional fibers and the composites are tested under tensile
loading conditions [17]. These tensile properties are compared with unidirectional composites with absence of paper
between layers of composites. They found that the unidirectional natural fiber composite with one or two layers of
thin paper holds the minimum variability in tensile strength and elastic modulus. The tensile strength and
delamination properties of laminated composites with paper were improved when compared to without paper
unidirectional composites and the modulus are slightly reduced when compared to epoxy composites.
Banerjee et al. [18] have conducted the micromechanics analysis of hybrid composites by using FEA software
(ABAQUS/CAE 6.9-2). The different hybrid laminates are prepared by using short carbon fibers and glass fibers
which is reinforced with polypropylene. In this study, the elastic constant and strength properties have evaluated by
using analytical formula and the results are compared with FEA results. They have observed that the negligible
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variability in elastic constants and longitudinal strength properties. They also found that the significant variability in
transverse strength properties. Many researchers have reviewed the experimental data about hybrid composites and
they observed that rule of hybrid mixtures is the prime factor to predict the mechanical properties of unidirectional
interplay hybrid composites [19-22].
In the present experimental study, the mechanical properties of banana–hemp–glass fiber reinforced composite
materials are evaluated. The banana–hemp–glass fiber reinforced composite materials are fabricated by hand lay-up
process. The properties such as tensile, flexural and impact strengths are studied and presented in detail. The results
indicated that the addition of banana and hemp fibers in the glass fiber composite materials improve the mechanical
properties.

2. Experimental

2.1. Materials

In this experimental investigation the hybrid composites are prepared by using banana fiber, hemp fiber and glass
fiber. The raw banana fiber and hemp fiber are supplied by M/s. Coir goods fiber Ltd., Kerala, India. The glass fiber,
epoxy resin (epoxy 758) and hardener (HY911) are purchased from M/s. Sakthi fiber glass Ltd., Chennai, India. The
physical properties of banana and hemp fibers are presented in Table 1.

Table.1 Physical properties of banana and hemp fibers [5, 12, 23]

Physical properties Banana fiber Hemp Fiber

Density(kg/cm3) 1350 300-1300
Tensile Strength(MPa) 54 90
Flexural Modulus (GPa) 2-5 3-5
Young’s Modulus (GPa) 3.48 4.4
Moist Absorption(%) 10-11 10-12

2.2. Preparation of hybrid composites

The base plate was cleaned of rust by scrubbing with an abrasive paper. Then the surface was allowed to dry after
cleaning it with a thinner solution. After drying, the surface was coated with silicon gel. The surface was given a
few minutes to get it set for the mold lay-up. The epoxy resin and the hardener are mixed in the proportion of 10:1.
The curing time or the pot life, which is how it is usually notified in the laboratory charts, was 20 minutes once
mixed. The care must be taken so that the resin does not cure in the curing pot itself. A constant watch over the
blend in the pot was made with the aid of a stop watch. Initially the natural fibers are dried with sunlight for 3 to 5
hours. The first laminate is fabricated by using banana and glass fibers with epoxy resin over the base plate. This
laminate consists of three layers glass fiber and two layers banana fiber was fabricated by hand lay process. The size
of the fabricated laminate is restricted to 300×300×4 mm. The top, middle and bottom layers of each laminate are
consist of glass fiber and the second and fourth layers are filled with natural fibers. Similarly the hemp-glass fiber
and banana-hemp-glass fibers with epoxy resin laminates are prepared by same hand lay method. Then the three sets
hybrid laminate was cured under the loaded condition for 12 hours with the help of the weight press. The raw
banana and hemp fibers used in for fabrication of composite laminates are presented in Fig.1 and Fig. 2. The
fabricated composite laminates are given Fig.3 and Fig. 4.
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Fig. 1 Raw banana fiber Fig. 2 Raw hemp fiber

Fig. 3 Fabricated banana-glass fiber composite laminate Fig. 4 Fabricated hemp-glass fiber composite laminate

2.3. Mechanical Properties of Composites

2.3.1. Tensile test

The tensile test specimens are prepared and testing of the composite laminates are carried out as per ASTM D638
standards and procedures. There are three specimen are used from each laminates for testing tensile behavior of
hybrid laminates. The test has been carried out on the universal testing machine, by means of applying load on the
specimen until its get failure and the results are observed. These methodologies are followed for remaining
specimen in the same composite laminate and other laminate specimens to get the mean tensile strength and
corresponding stresses for the comparison of results. The tensile test specimen before and after fracture of banana-
hemp-glass fibers reinforced epoxy composites are presented in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.

Specimen fracture

Fig. 5 Tensile test specimen before fracture ` Fig. 6 Tensile test specimen after fracture
2036 R. Bhoopathi et al. / Procedia Engineering 97 (2014) 2032 – 2041

2.3.2. Flexural test

The flexural test specimens are prepared as per the standard methods of ASTM D790. The three test specimens of
each laminates of banana, hemp and glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites are prepared and tested by applying the
3 point flexural load with the help of same universal testing machine (UTM). The results of flexural strength and
diplacement of each specimen are observed for result comparison. The flexural test specimen before and after
fracture of banana-hemp-glass fibers reinforced epoxy composites are presented in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8.

Specimen fracture

Fig. 7 Flexural test specimen before fracture ` Fig. 8 Flexural test specimen after fracture

2.3.3. Impact test

The three test specimens are prepared from each composite laminate of banana, hemp and glass fiber reinforced
composites for evaluating the impact load carrying capacity of the material.The test specimens are prepared from the
laminate of hybrid composite as per the standard ASTM A370 and the edges of the specimens are neatly finished
and small ‘v” notches are also provided by using hack saw blade. During the test the maximum energy that can be
stored to break the specimens are noted for the entire specimen for analysis of results. The V notched impact test
specimen before and after fracture of banana-hemp-glass fibers reinforced epoxy composites are presented in Fig. 9
and Fig. 10.

Notch Specimen fracture

Fig. 9 Impact test specimen before fracture ` Fig. 10 Impact test specimen after fracture

3. Results and discussion

The use of natural and manmade fibers reinforced hybrid composite materials are growing day by day due to its
characteristics like eco-friendly, recyclable, bio-degradable and user friendly in nature. Many researchers are
working in this field to make the composites hybrid and to replace metals and alloy materials in the field of
engineering and technology without affecting the load carrying capabilities and cost aspects. In the present
experimental study, the banana and hemp fibers are hybridized with glass fiber and prepared hybrid composite
laminates. Then the test specimen are prepared from the composite laminates as per ASTM standards and testing of
materials has been carried out under tensile, flexural and impact loading conditions by using universal testing
 R. Bhoopathi et al. / Procedia Engineering 97 (2014) 2032 – 2041 2037

machine and impact testing machine. The experimental results on mechanical properties of the tested composite
specimen are observed and presented in Table. 2.

Table. 2 Experimental results of the hybrid composite samples

Sample Tensile strength (MPa) Flexural strength (KN) Impact strength (Joules)
Banana-glass fiber composites 39.5 0.50 5.33
Hemp-glass fiber composites 37.5 0.29 5.33
Banana-hemp-glass fiber composites 28 0.51 8.66

3.1. Tensile strength analysis

The composite samples are tested in the universal testing machine (UTM) and the typical force vs. stroke curve
generated directly from the machine during tensile loading for the hybrid composites is presented in Fig. 11. The
tensile strength comparison of different hybrid composites is presented in Fig. 12. From the figure it can be observed
that the banana-glass fiber reinforced composites are performing better than the other composites tested which can
withstand the tensile strength of 39.5MPa followed by hemp-glass fiber reinforced composites can hold the strength
of 37.5MPa.

Fig. 11 Typical force vs. stroke curve generated directly from the machine during tensile loading

50
Tensile strength (MPa)

40
Sample 1
30
Sample 2
20
Sample 3
10

0
Banana-glass fiber Hemp-glass fiber Banana-hemp-glass fiber

Composite samples

Fig. 12 Tensile strength comparison of different hybrid composite samples

2038 R. Bhoopathi et al. / Procedia Engineering 97 (2014) 2032 – 2041

3.2. Flexural Strength analysis

The flexural properties of the hybrid composite samples are tested and the experimental values are presented in
Table. 2. The force vs. stroke curve generated directly from the machine during flexural loading for the hybrid
composites is presented in Fig. 13. The flexural strength comparison of different hybrid composites is presented in
Fig. 14. From the figure, it is asserted that the flexural load carrying capacity of banana-hemp-glass fiber reinforced
composites is better than banana-glass fiber reinforced composites and hemp-glass fiber reinforced composites.

Fig. 13 Typical force vs. stroke curve generated directly from the machine during flexural loading

0.6
Flexural strength (kN)

0.5
0.4
Sample 1
0.3
Sample 2
0.2 Sample 3
0.1
0
Banana-glass fiber Hemp-glass fiber Banana-hemp-glass fiber
Composite samples

Fig. 14 Flexural strength comparison of different hybrid composite samples

3.3. Impact strength analysis

The impact test is carried out for evaluating the impact load carrying capability of the different hybrid composite
specimens and the charpy impact test is used in the present investigation. The loss of energy is found out on the
reading obtained from the impact testing machine. The impact strength comparison of different hybrid composite
samples is presented in Fig. 15. The results indicated that the maximum impact strength is obtained for banana-
hemp-glass fibers reinforced hybrid composites which hold the impact strength of 8.66Joules. The banana-glass
fiber reinforced composites and hemp-glass fiber reinforces composites are performing in the same level can
withstand the impact strength of 5.33Joules.
 R. Bhoopathi et al. / Procedia Engineering 97 (2014) 2032 – 2041 2039

10
8
Impact strength

Sample 1
6
(Joules)

Sample 2
4
2 Sample 3
0
Banana-glass fiber Hemp-glass fiber Banana-hemp-glass fiber
Composite samples

Fig. 15 Impact strength comparison of different hybrid composite samples

3.4. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis

The failure morphology of the hybrid composite samples tested in the present experiment is examined through
scanning electron microscopy analysis. The SEM micrographs of the hybrid composite samples subjected to tensile
loading are presented in Fig. 16. From the images, it can be seen that the fracture of the fiber and matrix due to the
applied tensile load. The SEM micrographs of the hybrid composite samples subjected to flexural loading are
presented in Fig. 17 and the samples subjected to the impact loading are presented in Fig. 18. The fiber breakage and
fiber pull out due to flexural loading are clearly in observed in Fig.17. Fig. 18 indicated that the fractured edges of
the fibers in the specimen and also the dislocation of fibers due to impact loading.

Fractured fiber
Matrix fracture

Fig. 16 SEM micrographs of the hybrid composite samples subjected to tensile loading

Fiber pullout

Fiber breakage due to flexural loading

Fig. 17 SEM micrographs of the hybrid composite samples subjected to flexural loading
2040 R. Bhoopathi et al. / Procedia Engineering 97 (2014) 2032 – 2041

Fiber dislocation
Fractured edges of fibers

Fig. 18 SEM micrographs of the hybrid composite samples subjected to flexural loading

4. Conclusions

The banana-glass fiber, hemp-glass fiber and banana-hemp-glass fiber reinforced hybrid composties are
fabricated and the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength of these
composites are evaluated. The following conclusions have been derived from the experimental investigations.
x The banana-glass fiber hybrid composites have more tensile strength than other composites can withstand the
tensile strength of 39.5MPa followed by the hemp-glass fiber reinforced composites which holds the value of
37.5MPa.
x The maximum flexural strength of 0.51kN hold by the banana-hemp-glass fiber reinforced composites followed
by banana-glass fiber reinforced composites which is having the value of 0.50kN.
x The impact strength of the hybrid composites varies from the 5.33Joules to 8.66Joules.
x From the morphological observations the interfacial characteristics, internal structures of the fractured surfaces,
fiber failure mode, fiber pull out and fiber dislocation are clearly observed.
x It is suggested that these banana-hemp-glass fibers reinforced hybrid epoxy composites can be used as an
alternate material for synthetic fiber reinforced composite materials.

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