Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Sisal Fiber and Sugar Palm Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Composites

Abstract

Natural fibers have received a lot of coverage as reinforcements in polymer matrix composites. Out of all the reinforcing fibers, hybrid composites made of natural fibers have been attracting the attention of researchers as high-potential reinforcement materials for composite materials. These fibers are easily available as agriculture-based products. Natural fibers are low cost, bio-degradable, sustainable, and lightweight materials for composite applications. In this experimental work, sisal fiber and sugar palm fibers were used as reinforcement in different ratios to fabricate hybrid composites by the compression moulding technique while maintaining a total fiber loading of 30wt%. Tensile tests using a UTM INSTRON machine, flexural tests using a UTM DTRX machine, impact tests using an IZOD IMPACT D256 machine were conducted, and water absorption was also determined. The obtained results show that the composite made of a sisal fiber 20% and sugar palm fiber 10% combination exhibits better tensile properties with a stress value of 6.67N/mm2, and an Izod impact value of 42.461J/m. While the composite with a sisal fiber 10% and sugar palm fiber 20% showed a better flexural stress value of 67.29N/mm2, the water absorption test was carried out for four days with a 96-hour analysis. This research addresses that specimen-2 with sisal 20% and sugar palm fiber 10% absorbs less water compared to other composites.