PSI - Issue 70

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ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 70 (2025) 619–626

Structural Integrity and Interactions of Materials in Civil Engineering Structures (SIIMCES-2025) Performance evaluation of banana, coir, and jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites for sustainable construction applications Karthick Rasu a, *, P. Nedunchelian a , K. Harishankar a , S. Yogesh Babu a , M. Sriraam a , G. Gokula Venkatesh a a Department of Mechanical Engineering, Velammal College of Engineering and Technology, Madurai 625 009, Tamil Nadu, India. Abstract Rising interest in environmentally friendly and sustainable materials for construction has driven the development of polymer composites reinforced with natural fibers. This study focuses on the performance evaluation of hybrid epoxy matrix composites reinforced with banana, coir, and jute fibers in various proportions, aiming to identify optimal fiber combinations for construction related applications. Five different hybrid composites were made-up with a constant fiber volume fraction of 60% and epoxy resin as the matrix material. The composite samples were tested to determine their tensile, flexural, impact strengths, and surface hardness. Among the samples, the composite with 40% banana, 30% coir, and 30% jute fibers exhibited superior performance, achieving the highest values in tensile (56.63 MPa) and flexural strength (67.72 MPa), impact resistance (9.46 J), and hardness (74.74). The results indicate a synergistic effect in the ternary fiber combination, enhancing both mechanical performance and moisture resistance. These findings suggest that the developed hybrid composite is a viable candidate for sustainable construction applications, particularly in non-structural elements such as partition panels, false ceilings, and interior cladding, offering an environmentally responsible alternative to conventional materials. © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of International Conference on Structural Integrity Organizers

Key words: Natural Fiber; Epoxy Resin; Mechanical Properties; Sustainable Construction Materials;

1. Introduction Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites are emerging as eco-friendly cost effective alternatives to synthetics. Hybrid composites combining banana coir and jute fibers utilize each fiber’s strengths such as flexibility toughness and tensile strength to enhance mechanical performance. This study examines their potential as lightweight durable materials for automotive construction and packaging applications. Karthick et al. (2018).

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-9952517223. E-mail address: rkarthick33@gmail.com

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of International Conference on Structural Integrity Organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.07.098