Paper number 1267

TENSILE AND IMPACT PROPERTIES OF BANANA FIBRE/GLASS FIBRE HYBRID POLYESTER COMPOSITES

Laly A. Pothan¹, Sabu Thomas² and Jayamol George³

1Department of Chemistry, Bishop Moore College, Mavelikara 690110, Kerala, India.
2School Of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarshini Hills P.O., Kottayam 686 560, Kerala, India.
3Department of Metaalkunde en Toegepaste Materiaalkunde (MTM),
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, de Croylaan 2,B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.

Summary

Variations in tensile and impact properties of banana fibre reinforced polyester composites caused by the addition of glass fibre have been analysed. Banana fibre in combination with glass is excellent for making cost effective composite materials. The effect of the arrangement of glass and banana fibre in the preparation of composites have also been studied. A volume fraction of 0.11 glass mixed with banana fibre gives 54.5 % increase in the tensile strength and 196 % increase in the impact strength of the composites. Linear increase in tensile strength is noted as a result of the increase of glass. The tensile strength shows the highest value when a glass volume fraction of 0.17 is used and an interleaving arrangement of glass and banana fibre is followed. However, when lower volume fraction of glass is used, an intimate mixture of banana fibre and glass shows the highest tensile strength. The impact strength shows the highest value when a glass volume fraction of 0.11 is used.

Keywords

cellulose, hybrid, random fibre, banana fibre.