An experimental study on the mechanical properties of basalt and banana fiber reinforced hybrid polymer composites

Natural fiber composites are nowadays being used in various engineering applications for the fabrication of lightweight, low cost polymer composites. This is mainly attributed to the use of eco-friendly materials which are easy to use and dispose and has no negative impacts on the environment. The objective of this research work is to experimentally determine the mechanical and thermal properties of Basalt-Banana composite laminates and to find out the degree of improvement due to the addition of Basalt layers on the tensile strength, flexural strength and other properties of Banana fiber composite. Laminates were prepared by hand layup followed by Vacuum-bagging. Each laminate consisting of 5 layers in the intercalated sequence Basalt /Banana/ Basalt/ Banana/ Basalt. The results were finally compared with the existing work on Glass - Banana Fiber composites.