International Journal of Advanced Engineering Application

Mechanical Characterisation, Water Absorption Behaviour and Morphological Analysis of Jute–Banana Fibre Reinforced Epoxy Hybrid Composites for Lightweight Structural Applications

Author(s):Suresh Babu Nakkala

Affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Godavari Institute of Engineering and Technology (Autonomous), Andhra Pradesh

Page No: 67-72

Volume issue & Publishing Year: Volume 3, Issue 6, 2026/06/09

Journal: International Journal of Advanced Engineering Application (IJAEA)

ISSN NO: 3048-6807

DOI:

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Abstract:
Natural fibre reinforced polymer composites are attracting sustained research attention as sustainable alternatives to glass and carbon fibre composites in non-critical structural and semi-structural applications, given the renewable origin, low density (1.2–1.5 g/cm³), and favourable specific mechanical properties of lignocellulosic fibres. Jute (Corchorus olitorius) and banana pseudo-stem (Musa acuminata) fibres represent two of the most abundantly available agricultural natural fibres in India, yet their combination in hybrid epoxy composites with systematic experimental characterisation of mechanical and hygroscopic properties remains incompletely explored. This study fabricates six epoxy composite laminates — unreinforced control, jute-only at 10% and 20% volume fraction, banana-only at 10% and 20%, and a hybrid 10% jute + 10% banana laminate — by hand lay-up with LY556/HY951 epoxy–hardener system. Woven jute fabrics were subjected to 5% NaOH alkali treatment for 4 hours to improve fibre–matrix interfacial adhesion, while banana fibres were chemically treated with silane coupling agent (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane). Tensile, flexural (three-point bend), and Charpy impact properties, Shore D hardness, and 24-hour water absorption are measured per ASTM D638, D790, D256, D2240, and D570 respectively. The hybrid EP-HY20 laminate achieves tensile strength 71.3 MPa (86.9% above control), flexural strength 104.8 MPa (67.9% above control), and Charpy impact energy 28.7 J (103.5% above control) — outperforming both single-fibre 20% composites. SEM fractography confirms superior fibre–matrix interfacial adhesion in alkali-treated jute specimens, with debonding-dominated failure in untreated reference specimens confirming the efficacy of the surface treatment protocol.

Keywords: natural fibre composite, jute, banana fibre, hybrid composite, epoxy, hand lay-up, tensile strength, flexural strength, water absorption, SEM fractography, alkali treatment

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