Tensile properties of banana fiber reinforced recycled high‐density polyethylene composites: An experimental investigation

Abstract

Natural fiber‐reinforced polymer composites (NFRCs) are increasingly favored over synthetic fiber‐reinforced alternatives due to their beneficial properties and environmental sustainability. Mechanical properties of composites are critical to ensure optimized utilization of NFRCs. Here, this research explores the effects of different fiber parameters on the tensile strength of high‐density polymer composites reinforced with banana fiber and utilizes the Taguchi method for both experimental and statistical analysis of the outcomes. Three different parameters are considered here: weight fractions, fiber orientation angle, and plasma treatment to fabricate the composites using the compression molding process. Taguchi analysis revealed that fiber orientation angle has the greatest influence among the three variables, with plasma treatment and weight fraction following in impact on tensile strength. The composite that exhibited the highest tensile strength was determined to have a weight fraction of 10%, a fiber orientation angle of 90°, and a plasma treatment period of 5 min. This combination yielded a strength of 30.351 MPa. The analysis of the interaction between any two factors was done using contour plots. In order to compare the experimental tensile strength values with the anticipated values derived from the regression equation, regression analysis was carried out. Composites were made up of recycled HDPE (rHDPE) from plastic bottles using a compression molding technique. The Taguchi method is applied to achieve an experimental design employing an L4 orthogonal array. Contour plot analysis is conducted to identify points of minimum and maximum responses, as anticipated from the results. Tensile strength was optimized to a maximum of 30.351 MPa.