Effect of Various Orientation of Banana Fiber Woven Mat on Fracture Behaviours of Laminated Epoxy Composites

Abstract

The epoxy composites reinforced with banana fiber mat were fabricated through hand lay-up method followed by compression moulding process. The effect of fiber mat orientation, with and without crack on fracture behaviours, fracture toughness (KIC) and critical energy release rate (GIC) of the laminated composites were investigated by CT and SENB testing procedure. It was found that the KIC and GIC values were found higher for composites having without pre-cracked. The cracked composites showed lower performance during experimentation. The fracture surface morphology was investigated by SEM image of the fractured composites. The dimension stability was checked according to ASTM standard. It was concluded that the sequence of laminates (0/90)°/(45/135)° showed higher KIC and GIC rather than other laminated composites.

Keywords: fracture toughness, banana fiber mat, laminated composites, critical energy release rate

JEL Classification: Y1,Y2