Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Materials Today: Proceedings

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Mechanical behavior of sisal and banana fiber reinforced hybrid epoxy

composites
R. Siva a,⇑, B. Kesavaram a, J. Jones Martin a, G. Mathiselvan b, Kaja Bantha Navas a, M. Sangeetha a
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Jeppiaar Nagar, Chennai 600119, India
b
Department of Automobile Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam 638401, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Nowadays, new eco-friendly and recyclable natural fibers have gained attention over the commercially
Received 31 August 2020 used synthetic fibers. The biodegradable nature of the natural fibers attracts scientists. It has a significant
Received in revised form 25 October 2020 advantage over synthetic fiber materials, which predominantly are glass, carbon, and plastic fibers.
Accepted 28 October 2020
Practice of implementing natural fiber in composite materials for commercial applications became the
Available online xxxx
trend nowadays. In this study, natural fibers obtained from sisal and banana plants made into a compos-
ite by sandwich layering technique. This composite is analyzed to determine the mechanical properties of
Keywords:
the sisal/banana/banana/sisal hybrid composite. The results are compared with the individual mechani-
Sisal
Banana
cal properties of sisal/epoxy and banana/epoxy composites to determine the composite, which has the
Epoxy highest mechanical strength. This work revealed that the sisal/epoxy composite had the highest tensile,
Hybrid composite flexural, and impact strength of 24.5 MPa, 80.45 MPa, and 1.76 J, respectively, than all other composite
Mechanical properties combinations. The interfacial bonding and matrix dispersion of the composite samples observed through
Scanning electron microscope a Scanning Electron Microscope.
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 3rd International Con-
ference on Frontiers in Automobile & Mechanical Engineering.

1. Introduction made fiber-reinforced composite structures [4]. The Sisal fiber,

Research on natural fibers is one of the booming sectors in the
present world. The Bio-degradable material is found to be sustain-
able and highly durable. It has been the subject of varied research
efforts for several decades. All the natural fibers are eco-friendly,
recyclable, nonabrasive nature for fast processing and significantly
possess fewer health risks.[1] The demand for these products has
been increasing over the past years, with consumer’s acceptance
over new and innovative products, which leads to gain successful
market opportunities [2]. Natural fibers have superior advantages
in particular abundant availability, substantial lower density, low
cost, good thermal insulation, considerable durability, excellent
electrical resistance, better acoustic properties, and high specific
strength [3]. The main target of the fiber-reinforced polymer com-
posites has grown significantly in recent years because the com-
posite’s structures have better specific strength and modulus,
which are cheaper and lightweight. Notably, natural fiber rein-
forced polymer composites are more excellent than the human-
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rsivapsg@gmail.com (R. Siva).
alongside other natural fiber extraction processes, has been
reviewed with the polymers utilized in creating composites along-
side the acceptable manufacturing process employed, and its
mechanical properties are compared [5]. The fiber’s cellulosic con-
tent directly influences the mechanical properties of composites,
which depends on the adhesion of both matrix and fibers [6]. A
recent study focused on evaluating the mechanical and water
absorption properties of the sisal composite. It revealed that the
higher fiber content composite possessed the highest mechanical
strength and water absorption capability [7]. Banana fiber often
becomes an unused product after harvesting banana. Hence,
banana fibers can be obtained in a considerable amount for mass
production at a minimal cost. Previous research revealed that
Banana fiber, mixed with epoxy resin, offers better reinforcement
while composite preparation [8]. In this study, three reinforced
composites made with sisal, banana, and sisal/banana hybrid mats,
respectively. The matrix that used to produce the bio-composite is
epoxy resin- Araldite LY556, and it mixed with hardener HY951.
The fiber and the matrix were mixed in the ratio 52:48 by a mold-
ing technique called compression molding. Mandatory mechanical
properties like tensile, flexural, and impact strength are deter-

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.10.805
2214-7853/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 3rd International Conference on Frontiers in Automobile & Mechanical Engineering.

Please cite this article as: R. Siva, B. Kesavaram, J. Jones Martin et al., Mechanical behavior of sisal and banana fiber reinforced hybrid epoxy composites,
Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.10.805
R. Siva, B. Kesavaram, J. Jones Martin et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

mined for all three composites and compared with each other to
determine the composite which possesses the highest mechanical
strength. The surface morphological analysis of sisal/banana hybrid
composite did with Scanning Electron Microscope to inspect the
interfacial adhesion of fiber and matrix in the composite.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Fiber

Sisal plants belong to the agave family and mostly found in

parts of the USA and East Africa and Asia. The leaves can grow
up to a height of 1–1.5 m and 10 cm wide. Sisal fibers are generally
coarse, robust, and durable and can vary between 0.6 and 1.2 m in
length. A banana plant is a substantial perennial herbaceous plant
that belonged to the family of Musaceae. Banana fiber obtained
from the unutilized stalk of the banana plant. It grows up to a
height of 6–7 m and a width of 30–35 cm and mostly found in
India, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, and parts of south-
east Asia. Both sisal and banana fiber mats purchased from vruksha
composites and services, Chennai.

2.2. Matrix resin Fig. 1. Composite stacking procedure.

In this study, Epoxy LY556 mixed with Hardener HY951 used as

the matrix material. Epoxy LY556 is a thermosetting polymer with
a density of 1.15 g/cm3 and the viscosity of 10000 mPa-s. The den-
sity of hardener HY951 is 0.98 g/cm3. The Matrix and hardener
mixed in the ratio 10:1, which used as a matrix. Herenba Instru-
ments and engineers, Chennai supplies both the Epoxy and
Hardener.
2.3. Fabrication of composite
The epoxy resin and hardener are incorporated together in the
ratio 10:1 by weight and slowly mixed until fumes appear. Then
plates are made by the compression molding method according
to dimension 300x300x3mm. Initially, the wax coated on the mold
as a releasing agent then the matrix is poured uniformly.
Then the individual sisal mats of thickness 0.7 mm are placed
on the mold, and the matrix resin added continuously in between
each mat. The same procedure with repeated for banana compos-
ite. For the final composite, both the sisal and banana fiber mats
combined by placing the banana mats in the middle of sisal mats
at the top and bottom with the following matrix in between each
mat. The ratio of fiber and resin is 52:48. The composites are kept
under the compression molding machine with a load of 5 kg for 3
to 6 h before removing mold. The composite is permitted to post-
cure at room temperature for 24 h, and the mold removed. The
composite stacking procedure is shown in Fig. 1.
2.4. Mechanical tests
The mechanical testing carried out at Kalasalingam University,
krishnankovil. The tensile test carried out on an Instron universal
testing machine according to the ASTM D3039 standard with the
thickness of 3 mm, a width of 25 mm, and area of 59.62 mm2,
gauge length of 250 mm and with the feed rate maintained at
1 mm/min, crosshead speed set at 50 mm/min. The flexural tests
carried out using the 3-point type bending method according to
ASTM D790 standard with the thickness of 3 mm, Width of
13 mm, area of 135.25 mm2, and a gauge length of 125 mm and
with the feed rate maintained 1 mm/min, crosshead speed held
at 50 mm/min. The impact test conducted according to the ASTM
D256 standard with a thickness of 3 mm and a width of 13 mm
2
and a length of 65 mm. Three sample specimens tested for each
composite, and their average values used to evaluate the mechan-
ical properties of individual composites. The morphological analy-
sis did with the assistance of Hitachi S-3400 N type scanning
electron microscope (SEM) at Anna University, Chennai. The frac-
tured specimens of sisal/banana hybrid composite analyzed using
SEM to examine its structure and interfacial adhesion.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Tensile test
The tensile properties of sisal/epoxy composite, banana/epoxy
composite, and a sisal and banana hybrid composite shown in sep-
arate tables of Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3, respectively.
Tensile properties of sisal/epoxy, banana/epoxy, and sisal/
banana/banana/sisal composites showed in Fig. 2. The test results
show that the sisal/epoxy composite possesses the highest average
tensile strength of 24.5 MPa, which is 56.74% more than banana/
epoxy composite (15.63 MPa) and 32.28% higher than sisal/
banana/banana/sisal composite (18.52 MPa). The tensile result
shows that the sisal/epoxy and banana/epoxy composites have
excellent adhesion with the epoxy matrix, which happened to offer
good interfacial bonding of fiber and matrix, which is responsible
for enhanced tensile strength of composites. The tensile strength
of the sisal/banana/banana/sisal composite is much higher than
the banana/epoxy composite. This is due to the use of high strength
sisal fiber as the skin material, which is the significant component
to withstand heavy loads while doing tensile strength tests [9]. The
lower tensile strength of the sisal/banana composite is due to a
high quantity of fibers, which significantly increases the brittleness
Table 1
Tensile properties of sisal/epoxy composite.
S.no Sample Tensile strength in (MPa)
1 Sisal sample 1 18.35
2 Sisal sample 2 30.8
3 Sisal sample 3 24.37
Average 24.5
R. Siva, B. Kesavaram, J. Jones Martin et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 2 Table 5
Tensile properties of banana/epoxy composite. Flexural properties of banana/epoxy composite.

S.no Sample Tensile strength in (MPa) S.no Sample Flexural strength (MPa)
1 Banana sample 1 17.35 1 Banana sample 1 40.53
2 Banana sample 2 16.35 2 Banana sample 2 75.84
3 Banana sample 3 13.25 3 Banana sample 3 90.12
Average 15.63 Average 68.83

Table 3 Table 6
Tensile properties of sisal and banana hybrid Composite. Flexural properties of sisal and banana hybrid.

S.no Sample Tensile strength in (MPa) S.no Sample Flexural load in (MPa)
1 Sisal and Banana 1 17.63 1 Sisal and Banana sample 1 56.52
2 Sisal and Banana 2 19.43 2 Sisal and Banana sample 2 61.43
3 Sisal and Banana 3 18.5 3 Sisal and Banana sample 3 54.45
Average 18.52 Average 57.47

Fig. 2. Tensile properties of sisal/epoxy, banana/epoxy, and sisal/banana/banana/-

Fig. 3. Flexural properties of sisal/epoxy, banana/epoxy, and sisal/banana/banana/-
sisal composites.
sisal composites.

of the material [10]. A higher amount (52 wt%) of fibers induces

stress concentration points, which occurs due to the increase in
friction between the fibers, thus reduces the tensile strength due
to crack propagation [11].
3.2. Flexural test
The flexural properties of sisal/epoxy composite, banana/epoxy
composite, and a four-layer sisal/banana/banana/sisal epoxy com-
posite shown in separate tables of Table 4, Table 5 and Table 6
respectively.
Flexural properties of sisal/epoxy, banana/epoxy, and sisal/
banana/banana/sisal composites showed in Fig. 3. The sisal/epoxy
composite has the highest tensile strength of 80.45 MPa, which is
16.88% higher than banana/epoxy composite (68.83 MPa) and
39.98% higher than sisal/banana/banana/sisal composite
(57.47 MPa). Flexural stress is mainly dependent on the shear
force. Also, Layering patterns are much responsible for the action
of the shear force. As the layers get increased in composites, the
possibility of delamination gets increased accordingly. In four-
layer bio-composites, the three interlaminar planes are there,
which increases the chances of delamination [12]. Hence higher
flexural strength observed for sisal followed by banana composites
due to the presence of a single interlaminar plane, which dramat-
ically reduces the chances of shear crack or delamination. So, it is
to be notable that the flexural strength of the laminates is affected
by both constitutes of the parent fibers and laminating sequences
[13]. The higher tensile strength for sisal composites is also due
to the existence of less hemicellulose (10%), lignin (9.9%), moisture
content (10%), and higher cellulose content (65–68%) present in the
virgin fiber [14].

Table 4
Flexural properties of sisal/epoxy composite.
3.3. Impact test
S.no Sample Flexural strength (MPa)
1 Sisal sample 1 50.22 The impact properties of the sisal/epoxy composite, banana/
2 Sisal sample 2 80.45 epoxy composite, and a four-layer sisal/banana/banana/sisal epoxy
3 Sisal sample 3 110.68 composite shown in separate tables of table 7, table 8 and table 9
Average 80.45
respectively.
3
R. Siva, B. Kesavaram, J. Jones Martin et al. Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 7
Impact properties of sisal/epoxy composite.

S.no Sample Impact strength (J)

1 Sisal sample 1 1.3
2 Sisal sample 2 2
3 Sisal sample 3 2
Average 1.76

Table 8
Impact properties of banana/epoxy composite.

S.no Sample Impact strength (J)

1 Banana sample 1 0.8
2 Banana sample 2 2
3 Banana sample 3 2
Average 1.6

Table 9
Impact properties of sisal and banana hybrid composite.

S.no Sample Impact strength (J)

Fig 4. Impact properties of Sisal/epoxy, banana/epoxy and sisal/banana/banana/-
1 Sisal and Banana 1 1.33 sisal hybrid composites.
2 Sisal and Banana 2 1.8
3 Sisal and Banana 3 2
Average 1.71 epoxy is due to the layering of composite with sisal as the skin
layer, which acts as the load-bearing medium.

Impact strength of sisal/epoxy, banana/epoxy, and sisal/banana/

banana/sisal composites showed in Fig. 4. Sisal/epoxy composites
show the highest impact strength of 1.76 J, which is 10% higher
than banana/epoxy composites (1.6 J) and 2.92% higher than
sisal/banana/banana/sisal composite (1.71 J). The reason for the
higher impact strength of sisal/epoxy composite highly depended
on the presence of suitable interfacial regions and good homoge-
neous filler dispersion in the matrix, which in turn helps to avoid
crack propagation significantly and boosts the efficiency of stress
distribution between the matrix and the fiber [15]. The lower
impact strength showed on the banana composite is due to the
fiber agglomeration, improper distribution of fiber and matrix,
presence of voids and deficient matrix and fiber adhesion due to
immense fiber loading (52 wt%) which minimized the ductility of
the sample [16]. The impact strength of sisal/banana/banana/sisal
composite is also lesser compared to sisal/epoxy composite. The
matrix did not completely cover the areas of exposed fiber due to
fiber agglomeration, which resulted in weak bonding and resulted
in poor impact strength. Also, the reason for the higher impact
strength of sisal/banana/banana/sisal composite than the banana/
3.4. Scanning Electron microscope (SEM) analysis
Fig. 5(a) and 5(b) shows that the fiber pull-out has occurred in
the sisal/banana hybrid composites. This condition has occurred
due to the poor interfacial adhesion of fiber and the matrix. Poor
interfacial adhesion may due to the poor adhesion capability of
hydrophilic lignocellulosic parent fibers with hydrophobic matrix
resin (epoxy) [17]. From Fig. 5(b) shows that the fiber breakage
has also occurred in the fractured areas of the tensile test. Fiber
breakage shows that some composite areas have good fiber and
matrix adhesion, which enhances the composite’s tensile strength.
More fiber pull-outs noted in Fig. 5(a). These pull-outs occur due to
the higher accumulation of fibers in the composite due to insuffi-
cient matrix availability to cover the whole area of the fiber. More-
over, the mechanical strength of the sisal banana hybrid is less due
to the presence of voids, pores, cracks, fiber pull-outs and debond-
ing of fiber and the matrix as shown in Fig. 5(a) and Fig. 5(b)
respectively [18], which occurred due to the bubble formation dur-
ing composite preparation and brittle behavior of the composite.

Fig. 5. SEM micrographs of a fractured sample of sisal/banana hybrid epoxy composite a) region one; b) region two.

4
R. Siva, B. Kesavaram, J. Jones Martin et al.
4. Conclusion
In this study, sisal and banana fibers reinforced with matrix
Epoxy in different combination composites. The individual
mechanical properties of sisal, banana, and Sisal/banana/banana/-
sisal hybrid composites determined by tensile, flexural, and impact
tests. Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis did for fractured sisal
banana hybrid composites to analyze the microstructures. This
study reveals,
 The Sisal/banana hybrid epoxy composites possess lower
mechanical strength than individual parent fiber epoxy
composites.
 The sisal/epoxy composite offered the highest tensile strength
of 24.5 MPa, Flexural strength of 80.45 MPa, and Impact
strength of 1.76 J shows the pathway to use in lightweight com-
mercial and consumer applications.
 The presence of more layers of mats increases the possibilities
of delamination due to the presence of more interlaminar
planes, which results in interlaminar cracks, thereby reducing
the mechanical strength.
 SEM analysis revealed that the existence of voids, debonding,
and high fiber pull-outs dramatically affects the mechanical
strength of the composites.
 Moreover, sisal/banana hybrid composites offered better
mechanical strength than banana composite, and it possesses
almost the same mechanical strength as sisal composites.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
R. Siva: Conceptualization, Writing—original draft preparation.
G. Mathiselvan: Writing—review and editing, supervision. B. Kesa-
varam and J. Jones martin: Investigation. Kaja bantha navas: For-
mal analysis, Visualization. M: Sangeetha Methodology.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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