Evaluation of Tensile, Flexural and Impact Strength of Gongura Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composite

Polymer materials have wide range of applications but as the strength of pure polymers is less than metals, composite materials are preferred. Composite materials comprise of polymers and fiber materials. Synthetic fibers used in the composites have more weight, prone to thermal damages. To overcome this problem natural fibers are used in the composite materials. The natural fibers have almost equal strength to the synthetics. In this work, the mechanical properties of the gongura fiber reinforced epoxy composites are evaluated. The fibers are extracted and they are tested to find the tensile strength and the chemical compositions. The composite specimens are prepared by using the epoxy resin and gongura fibers by hand layup process in cold press moulds. The specimens are then cut according to the ASTM standards for the strength evaluation and the tensile, flexural and the impact strengths of the composite are found. The variation of the strength according to the amount of fiber content present in the composite matrix is analysed. The specimens are prepared with the fiber content with 10%, 15% and 20% of the total weight. From the test results it is found that the tensile strength and the flexural strength increases with the increase in the fiber content. In case of the impact strength the value increased from 10% to 15% but it decreased in the 20% sample. The orientation of the fibers in the composite also plays a major role in the determination of the strength and the properties can be improved by evaluating the strength according to the angular alignment of the fibers. The gongura fibers can also be used along with the synthetic fibers as hybrid composites.