An Experimental Study on the Hardness, Inter Laminar Shear Strength, and Water Absorption Behavior of Habeshian Banana Fiber Reinforced Composites

ABSTRACT

The current study examines the effect of NaOH treatment on the hardness, inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) and water absorption behavior of epoxy composites reinforced with banana pseudostem fibers. Using the hand-lay-up method, six distinct samples are created that are composed of layers of woven and short banana fibers in both a plain and hybrid form. Plain- treated woven composites reveal the highest hardness and ILLS properties followed by the hybrid and short fiber composites. The random orientation of the fiber structure in short fiber composites results in the largest moisture absorption; this behavior is further supported by elucidating the kinetic parameters and diffusion coefficient parameters. SEM analysis confirms the improved surface of the NaOH-treated composite material.

摘要

本研究考察了NaOH处理对香蕉假茎纤维增强环氧复合材料硬度、层间剪切强度（ILSS）和吸水性能的影响. 使用手工叠放方法，制作了六个不同的样品，这些样品由编织和短香蕉纤维层组成，既有普通的也有混合的形式. 普通处理的机织复合材料显示出最高的硬度和ILLS性能，其次是混合纤维和短纤维复合材料. 短纤维复合材料中纤维结构的随机取向导致最大的吸湿性; 通过阐明动力学参数和扩散系数参数进一步支持了这种行为. SEM分析证实了经NaOH处理的复合材料的表面得到了改善.

KEYWORDS:

• Banana fiber
• sandwich composites
• water absorption
• ILSS, hardness

关键词:

• 香蕉纤维
• 夹层复合材料
• 吸水性
• 硬度

Highlights

• Banana fibers derived from Ethiopia are utilized for fabricating novel composites

• Composites are prepared by using short and woven banana fibers in plain and hybrid form

• Effect of NaOH treatment is investigated on the developed composites

• Treated woven composites reveal good hardness and inter-laminar shear strength

• Short banana fiber composites possess higher affinity for moisture absorption

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSPD2024R698), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for funding this research work. The work was supported by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) through the BOLD Refresh postdoctoral fellowships under grant J510050002-IC-6 BOLDREFRESH2025-center of excellence. Also, the authors thank the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Adama Science and Technology University, Ethiopia for providing the facilities and support to conduct this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

Kiran Shahapurkar, Gezahgn Gebremaryam – Conceptualization, Gezahgn Gebremaryam, Kiran Shahapurkar, Gangadhar Kanaginahal – Methodology, C. Venkatesh, Manzoore Elahi M Soudagar – Supervision, Mohammad Yassin, Kiran Shahapurkar – Writing – original draft, Kiran Shahapurkar, S. Ramesh, Nik-Nazri Nik-Ghazali – Investigation, Manzoore Elahi M Soudagar, Yasser Fouad, M.A.Kalam – Review and Editing.

Data availability statement

All the data used for the study is available in the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The authors extend their appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSPD2024R698), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for funding this research work.