Mechanical Characterization of Coconut Coir and Banana Fiber Reinforced with Epoxy Resin Polymer Composite

Natural fibers are renewable resources which have been renewed by nature for thousands of years. These fibers are completely renewable, environmental friendly with high specific strength. They are non-abrasive and bio-degradable in nature. Since they are part of wastage, they are available with low cost. With these characteristics, natural fibers have recently become attractive area of research for scientists and they find it as an alternative to prepare various natural fibers reinforced composites. Having extensive range of properties, the natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials are suitable for large number of engineering application. The natural fibers have been available plentifully in the world. It reduces the usage of plastic with unique properties compared to synthetic fiber. Due to the high specific properties and low density of natural fibres, composites based on these fibres may have very good implications in industry. In the present research work we have chosen banana fiber as the major reinforcement and coconut coir as an additional fiber to improve the mechanical property of polymer composite with epoxy resin as the base material prepared by hand lay-up process according to ASTM standards. Test specimens are prepared with different weight fractions. Tests were conducted and the improvement in mechanical properties (tensile strength and flexural strength) of the hybrid composite material is observed.