Evaluation of Mechanical and Wear Performances of Natural Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites

The possible usage of natural fiber reinforced composites (NFC) for various industrial applications is being explored. In the present work, mechanical and wear behavior of three different NFCs were analyzed. Natural fibers like prosopis juliflora (PJ), abuliton indicum (AI), and tapsi (T) fibers in the form of straws were considered in the present study. Composites were fabricated for three different fibers with 20 wt.% by hand layup method. Mechanical tests like tensile, flexural, and impact were performed along with tribological tests. Tensile and flexural were performed on universal testing machine, impact on izod impact tester, and wear test on pin-on-disc test setup. Wear tests on the fabricated composite samples were performed with varying the process parameters like sliding speed and applied load with a maximum sliding distance of 3000 m. SEM analysis was also performed on the fractured and worn out samples to know the bonding behavior, failure, and material removal mechanism of three NFCs. Among all the NFCs, prosopis juliflora fiber attained an improved mechanical and wear behaviors when contrasted to the other two NFCs.