The manufacture and characterisation of short banana fibre-reinforced polymer composites

Polymeric materials reinforced with synthetic fibres such as glass, carbon, and aramid provide advantages of high stiffness and strength to weight ratio as compared to conventional construction materials, i.e., wood, concrete, and steel. Despite these advantages, the widespread use of synthetic fibre-reinforced polymer composite tends to decline because of their high-initial costs, their use in non-efficient structural forms, and, most importantly, their adverse environmental impact. The banana fibres were chemically modified through contact with 10 wt % sodium hydroxide solutions for 45 minutes. Polymeric composites with different fibre lengths were prepared through the hand lay-up process at room temperature. Prepared composites exhibited better mechanical and thermal properties. The tensile strength increased with an increasing fibre length of the banana fibre in epoxy matrix composites, due to the stronger interfacial interactions between the treated fibres and the epoxy matrix. These effects occurred due to the morphological and chemical changes in the treated fibre surfaces, which promote better adhesion between the fibres and the epoxy matrix.