Investigation of mechanical properties of terminalia arjuna and moringa oleifera fiber reinforced epoxy composite

Abstract

Various sectors are utilizing composites reinforced with natural fibers (NF). Composite materials with an epoxy matrix have been mould with hand layup process using woven fibers from the Terminalia Arjuna fiber and Moringa Oleifera fruit fibers. The composite panels were manufactured using a variable number of layers, ranging from 7 to 13, depending on the fabric's weight. An assessment has been conducted on the tensile, bending, impact, compression, short beam shear strength, fracture toughness, and water-absorption (WA). The composites that were created were examined utilizing SEM analysis to examine the fractured morphology and assess the strength of the interface. The investigation revealed that augmenting the quantity of fiber layers enhanced the physical and mechanical properties of the composites. The tensile strength of the composites increased by 25% to 62.35 MPa with 11 layers, while water absorption was found to be 18.4% after 10 days. Therefore, these findings suggest that the fabricated composites are well-suited for applications in structural components and automotive body parts requiring moderate load-bearing capacity.