Effect of Fiber Orientation on Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Banana-Reinforced Composites

The day-by-day usage of natural fibers is increasing in all industrial and non-industrial applications because of their availability and easy manufacturing. Based on this demand of natural fibers for the past few decades, most of the researchers are working on the development of various natural fiber-reinforced composites. In the present research work, the mechanical and tribological properties of a developed banana fiber-reinforced composite with various orientations have been investigated. Initially the composite is made up by hand layup process in the 10:1 weight ratio of resin and hardener. Later these composites are cut according to the ASTM standards, and mechanical and tribological properties of different fiber orientations which are 0°, 15°, 45°, 75° and 90° are tested. Finally, a morphological analysis is conducted at the fractured surfaces to understand the type of the failure that has occurred for all the orientations.