Synergistic Influence of Banana Pseudo Stem Fibre and Synthetic Fibre on Mechanical, Thermal Stability and Tribological Properties of Epoxy-Based Composites

The use of Synthetic Fibres (SF) as reinforcement for development of Epoxy-based Composites (EC) is well reported. Aside the fact that SF reinforced EC suffer failure under low stress, SF are harmful and sparse, thus limiting local synthesis of the composite for fabrication of structural components. The foregoing necessitates the search for sustainable agro-based alternatives such as Banana Pseudo Stem Fibre (BPSF). Therefore, attempt was made to study the use of BPSF as partial or wholly alternative to SF in EC. The synergistic influence of BPSF and SF on mechanical, thermal stability and tribological characteristics of EC was examined. The SF used in this study were Kevlar (KK), glass (GG) and carbon (CC). Hand lay-up lamination method was used to develop unhybridised and hybridised epoxy composites. The unhybridised epoxy composite reinforced with BPSF was denoted as BBBB (control). The hybrid of BPSF with KK, GG and CC were designated as BBKK, BBGG, and BBCC, respectively. Mechanical, thermal stability and wear tests were carried out according to ASTM standards. Microstructure evolution was examined with SEM NIXRN (Model 541). The BBCC exhibited higher tensile strength and compressive strength (159.11, 65.21 MPa) when compared to BBGG (141.11, 58.21 MPa), BBKK (144.27, 55.51 MPa), and BBBB (109.38, 52.77 MPa), respectively. The improved hardness in the hybridised samples, BBCC (109.25 BHN), BBKK (89.77 BHN), and BBGG (82.23 BHN), were attributed to the filling of BPSF pores with synthetic reinforcements, when compared to the unhybridised BBBB (78.12 BHN). The BBCC demonstrated highest thermal stability, with a mass residue of 18.00 %. The sample also demonstrated the lowest wear under the tested loads. The microstructures revealed a finely dispersed fibres and better adherence in the matrix as compared to others. The hybridised samples demonstrated better properties compared to the unhybridised. The BBCC, a combination of 2-layer configuration of BPSF and CC exhibited the best mechanical, thermal stability and tribological characteristics. In future research endeavours, an investigation on the synergistic impact of other agro-based natural fibres and synthetic fibres at different configuration of layers on the properties of epoxy-based composites is proposed.