Evaluation and Analysis of Elastic and Mechanical Characteristics of Hybrid Composite Incorporating Banana Fiber, Kenaf Fiber, and Nano-CaCO3

Abstract

The use of nano-fillers as reinforcement in natural fibers-based hybrid composites has gained prominence in multiple sectors in recent years because of their virtuous mechanical and physical characteristics. The impeccable properties of nano-fillers like their high aspect ratio and larger surface area have made them to be used in areas for instance, sectors like aviation, automotive, and biotechnology fields. This study focuses on examining how various weight percentages of nano-calcium carbonate (NCaCO₃) fillers (2%, 5%, 7%) impact the elastic properties of innovative hybrid composites blended with banana and kenaf fibers, combined with epoxy. The elastic characteristics of the suggested composite, including longitudinal elastic modulus (LEM), transverse elastic modulus (TEM), longitudinal Poisson’s ratio (LPR), and longitudinal shear modulus (LSM), are analyzed through micromechanical models such as the Mori–Tanaka (M–TA) model, generalized self-consistent (GS-C) model, and modified Halpin–Tsai (M-HT) model. The composite consisting of a solitary banana fiber sheet, a solitary NCaCO₃ mix epoxy sheet, and another solitary kenaf fiber sheet is modeled in ANSYS APDL simulation software. The composite’s layers are organized in a specific order: starting with banana fiber at 90° orientations, followed by a layer of NCaCO₃ and epoxy at 0° orientations, and concluding with kenaf fiber at 90° orientations. The ANSYS software is employed to analyze the total sum deformation and strength of the suggested composite. The outcomes obtained from this research are contrasted and confirmed through comparison with existing literature. The inclusion of 7 wt% of NCaCO₃ in the suggested hybrid composite is found to have the highest elasticity and ductility in comparison with 2 wt% and 5 wt% of NCaCO₃. The composite containing 7 wt% NCaCO₃ demonstrates the greatest load-bearing capability. Additionally, while calculating the elastic characteristics of the proposed composite, both the modified Halpin–Tsai (M-HT) model and the generalized self-consistent model (GS-C) outperform the Mori–Tanaka model (M–TA). Furthermore, the hybrid impact is computed for the suggested composite to analyze the tensile strain rates at which failure occurs for banana and kenaf fibers within the composite hybrid structure. The computed hybrid value of 0.5 indicates that the failure rate of a non-hybridized composite is 50% more than the hybridized composite. This signifies that the hybrid composites have high load-bearing strength, high elasticity, and stiffness.