ORIGINAL PAPER
Development of Sustainable Epoxy-Banana Fibre Composites and their Mechanical and Tribological Characterization
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1
Mechanical Engineering, Rungta College of Engineering and Technology, India
2
Mechanical Engineering, RSR Rungta College of Engineering & Technology, India
3
Mechanical Engineering, Medicaps University, India
4
Mechanical Engineering, Sagar Institute of Research & Technology, India
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Mechanical Engineering, Prestige institute of Management and Research, India
Submission date: 2025-09-08
Final revision date: 2025-11-05
Acceptance date: 2026-03-19
Online publication date: 2026-07-07
Publication date: 2026-07-07
Corresponding author
Vivek Mishra
Mechanical Engineering, Medicaps University, Indore, India
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The present investigation aims to develop epoxy-based composites reinforced with banana fibre (5 mm length) and evaluate their various properties. Different sets of composites were fabricated via a simple hand lay-up method with fibre loadings of 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 wt. % to investigate their performance. Findings indicate that increasing fibre content reduces the composite's density, while water absorption increases with higher fibre percentages. Banana fibre composites with 7.5% exhibited the maximum tensile, flexural, and impact strengths, with values of 33.1 MPa, 55.6 MPa, and 31.7 kJ/m², respectively. On the other hand, composite specimens with 10 wt.% fibre loading resulted in maximum tensile modulus (3124 MPa), flexural modulus (3583 MPa) and Barcol Hardness Number (33). The addition of natural fibre improves the wear resistance of the material. The minimum specific wear rates reported are 2.37 x 10-4 mm3/Nm for minimum normal load when measured at varied normal load and 1.93 x 10-4 mm3/Nm for maximum sliding velocity when measured at varied sliding velocity. Scanning electron microscopy morphological analysis of abraded samples showed micro-cracks, micro-plugging, and fibre debonding on the surface. The AHP-TOPSIS multi-criteria decision-making technique determined that composites with 7.5 wt.% fibre loading offer the optimal balance of mechanical strength and wear resistance, making them highly suitable for structural and tribological applications.
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