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Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026 www.materialstoday.com/proceedings

IConAMMA_2017

Mechanical Characterization of Natural Fiber Reinforced

Composites: An Alternative for Rural House Roofing’s
Samuel Tadassea, Khalid Abdellah a, Akkabathula Prasanthb, Desta Goytomc,
Anil Kumar Deepatic*
a
B.Sc. Students, School of Mechanical Engineering, JIT, JU, Ethiopia, PO 378
b
B.Tech Student, Sir CRR College of Engineering, Eluru, AP, India. 534004
c
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, JIT, JU, Ethiopia, PO 378
*E-mail: flytoanil@gmail.com

Abstract

The present investigation deals with mechanical characterization of natural fiber composite materials as alternative roofing for
rural houses. In this study, It has been used both banana and Ensete (Ensete ventricosume) fibers for manufacturing the
composite material. Tensile test, flexural test and compressive test were performed on the test samples made by various
parameters i.e. thickness 4, 6, and 8mm with various fiber orientations using blend of two different matrixes. It was observed that
the results obtained were fairly acceptable and closely equivalent to the existing roof material. The present study also investigated
the effect of fiber orientation on mechanical properties of the composite material and seen that the mechanical properties were
enhanced with developed material which serves as the best alternative for the existing house roofing material.
Keywords: Fiber; Ensete (Ensete ventricosume), Banana fiber, Reinforcement, Matrix, Tensile test, compressive test, flexural test, Scanning
electron microscope.

1. Introduction

The international demand for efficient and effective engineering materials have led to make extensive research
and development of new and improved material, for instance the use of composite material, for advanced
applications such as automotive body ,aircraft and aerospace structures and for ordinary applications like consumer
goods, furniture, low-cost housing and civil structures, are the listed one. Composite materials consist of a

* Corresponding author. Tel.:+251 966881929

E-mail address: flytoanil@gmail.com

2214-7853 © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of International Conference on Advances in Materials and Manufacturing Applications
[IConAMMA 2017].
 Samuel et al / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026 25017

combination of materials that are mixed together to achieve specific structural properties. Composite material has
mechanical properties encompassing the advantages of both the fiber and matrix [1].
Natural Fiber reinforced composite (NFRC) materials have played an important role in a variety of
applications such as vessels, tanks, automobile body parts, many mechanical light weight parts[9]. As a result of the
increasing environmental awareness, the concern for environmental sustainability and the growing global waste
problem is increased year by year. Research in the field of polymers and composites from biological sources strives
to replace traditional, synthetic ones with more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives. Manufacturing
of high performance materials from renewable resources is one ambitious aim currently pursued by many
researchers. Bio-composites are a material formed by a matrix (resin) and a reinforcement of natural fibers. The
developments of bio composites from biodegradable polymers and natural fibers have attention in the field of
composite science [2, 3]
Fibers in the composite materials are the load-carrying elements and provide strength and rigidity, while the
polymer matrices maintain the fibers alignment (position and orientation). Fiber reinforced composite are strong,
stiff, rigid and light weighted. The fibers may be either natural fibers or man-made fiber [4]. A Natural fiber as
reinforcement in composite material, have recently attracted the attention of researchers because it has many
advantages over other composite materials. Natural fibers composite are environmentally friendly, fully bio
degradable, abundantly available, non-toxic, corrosion resistant, non-abrasive, renewable, and cheap to process and
manufacture [5, 6].
Jena, H et al. [7] investigated the influence of bamboo fiber composite filled with cenosphere and reported that
the impact of bio-fiber reinforced composite is highly influenced by addition of cenosphere as filler and lamina.
Some researchers studied the applications of coir fiber reinforced polymer composites [8, 9, and 10]. Few reports
were published wide applications on jute fiber reinforced polypropylene composites found significant mechanical
properties [11 and 12]. In a study by Jain et al. [13], LFRC was fabricated based on bamboo fibers and bamboo
orthogonal mat while araldite resin was used as matrix in each case. They reported that the unidirectional composite
gave the highest tensile strength of up to 175.27 MPa. Many researchers had contributed on natural fiber reinforced
composites materials [13-16].
Roofing a house with a strong and cheap material is the people’s interest. Most of the roofs of rural houses are
made up of grass and corrugated metal sheets. The advanced knowledge about natural fiber’s physical and
mechanical properties will help the production of new products and applications. The focus of this paper is to study
an alternative roof for rural houses using natural fiber reinforced composite materials. In this work, a critical review
on the characterization of natural fiber (mainly, Enset and banana fibers) reinforced polymer composite has
been presented.

2. Materials and methods

The procedures followed in the experimental works are divided in to three main categories as shown in Figure 1.
25018 Samuel et al/ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026

Experimental Work

Preparation of raw Preparation of Test

Materials Samples Testing Methods

 Fiber  Pattern preparation  Tensile test

 Matrix  Composites  Flexural test
 Test sample  Compressive test

Fig. 1. Methodologies
The basic materials used for making composite materials are natural fibers as reinforcement and blend of diluted
polyvinyl acetate with gypsum as matrix. The fibers are extracted from Ensete and banana tree. Ensete is an
indigenous plant in Africa which is abundantly available in Ethiopia as an agricultural waste. The waste Ensete and
banana tree pseudo stems were collected from Jimma and surrounding areas. Fibers were then extracted manually
from the pseudo stems by a sharp knife. Figure 2 (a), (b), (c) indicates the fibers extracted manually from
pseudostem of an ensete and banana tree.

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2. Natural fibers as a reinforcement (a) Ensete pseudostem (b) Banana fiber (c) Ensete fiber

Wooden patterns were prepared by removing the interior part to the desired specimen shape and dimension. Figure 3
shows the patterns for sample preparation. Table 1 represents the chemical composition of both fibers i.e. banana
and Ensete. Table 2 represents the properties of natural fibers and matrix.
Table 1: Chemical composition of Natural fibers [17]
Fiber Cellulose % Lignin Diameter Hemicellulose Elongation
% (µm) % %

Banana 64% 5 50-250 6-19 3.7

Ensete 70 4 100-300 8 2.4
 Samuel et al / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026 25019

Table 2: Properties of natural fibers and matrix

Material type Density Water Modulus of Tensile

3
Kg/m ) absorption % elasticity (GPa) Strength(MPa)

Banana Fiber 960-760 55-60 20-25 110-400

Ensete Fiber 450 40-50 40-45 120-350

Matrix (Blend of 1000-1200 --- 50-60 100-450

Polyvinyl acetate
and gypsum)

Prior to the preparation of composites, the fibers were cut in to the desired specimen dimensions. After the fibers
were prepared they were kept in the patterns according to the required fibers orientations. Figure 3 shows the
composites preparation procedure.

(a) (b)
Fig. 3. Composite preparation procedure(a) Fibre weiving and matrix applying (b) Drying

The samples were prepared on various thicknesses i.e. 4mm, 6mm and 8mm and for for tensile test, compressive
test and flexural tests. Figure 4 represents fiber orientation in the composite material and Figure 5 depicts the final
samples prepared for the mechanical charecterisation.

Fig. 4. Three types of fibers orientations.

For mechanical characterization, samples were prepared on three fiber orientations i.e. unidirectional, mat-shape,
and diagonal. Figure 5 shows the test samples for Tensile, Flexural and Compressive tests.
25020 Samuel et al/ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026

Fig. 5. Test samples for Tensile, Flexural and Compressive tests.

3. Results and discussion
All the mechanical testing methods that were carried out were based on American Standard Testing Methods
(ASTM E-8). Three tests were performed, namely Tensile Test, Flexural Test and compressive Test using Universal
Testing Machine (M500-50KN). The samples with three variations in thickness and Fiber orientations are made
using two different fiber reinforcement types. Table 3 represents the process variables considered in the present
study. The notations taken for Ensete Fiber type are (A, B, and C) and for Banana fiber (D, E, and F).
Table 3 Process variables

Notation Fiber Type Thickness(mm) Fiber Orientation

A 4,6,8 Unidirectional

B Ensete 4,6,8 Mat-Type

C 4,6,8 Diagonal-Type

D 4,6,8 Unidirectional

E Banana 4,6,8 Mat-Type

F 4,6,8 Diagonal-Type

3.1 Tensile test

The testing was done in standard laboratory atmosphere of 25˚C. UTM machine was operated at cross-head speed of
50 mm/minute. Figure 6 shows the Universal Testing Machine (M500-50KN) used for the composite tensile,
compressive and flexural testing.

Fig. 6. Universal Testing machine (M500-50 KN) for tensile testing.

 Samuel et al / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026 25021

The tensile test samples were taken from the prepared composites material. The samples were cut to the desired size
as shown in Figure 7.

(a) (b)
Fig. 7. Tensile test samples (a) Composite material (b) Raw fibers in various orientations

According to ASTM standards rectangular shape specimens were used for reinforced composite testing. Figure 8
shows the sample for tensile test.

Fig. 8. Rectangular shaped specimen dimensions prepared for tensile test.

The tensile test results were plotted for all the eighteen types of composite samples are shown in Figure 9. The
descriptions for the process variables and notations considered here are listed in the Table 2. The Ultimate tensile
strength for the samples made with Ensete fibre reinforced composites and Banana fiber reinforced composites were
analyzed.

From the Figure 9 it is clear that the strength of the material increases with increase in the thickness and it is also
shows that the composite made with Ensete fibers exhibits superior strength than the composite made with banana
fibers. The variation between the sample “C” and “F” (i.e. 8mm thick) is around 25Mpa. By increasing the
composite material thickness from 4mm to 8mm, nearly 25% improvement in Tensile strength was observed. From
the Figure 9, it is also distinct that the fiber orientation has significant on the tensile strength.
25022 Samuel et al/ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026

Fig. 9. Tensile Strength vs. Composite thickness

The orientation of the reinforcement for the Sample “B” and Sample “E” are Mat – shaped, and sample “C” and “F”
are in diagonal shaped fibers. Diagonal shaped reinforced material exhibits higher strength than the mat shaped
reinforcement.

3.2 Flexural Testing:

Flexural strength is the ability of the material to withstand bending forces applied perpendicular to its longitudinal
axis. Three-point loading system was applied on rectangular shape spacemen. The test pieces were then placed on
two supports and load will be applied. The distance of two supports span (L) was fixed at 100mm. Figure 10 shows
three point flexural test setup and the test specimen for flexural test respectively.

Fig. 10. Three point flexural testing setup

 Samuel et al / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026 25023

Flexural test was performed using Universal Tensile Machine (M500-50KN) at standard laboratory atmosphere of
25˚C. The constant load was then applied on test piece and deflection is recorded. The results of the flexural test
were plotted and shown in the Figure 11.

Fig. 11. Flexural Strength vs. Composite thickness

The samples A, B, and C represent the composite material made of Ensete fibers as reinforcement, whereas the
samples D, E and F represent the composite material made of banana fibers as reinforcement. Figure 11 shows that
the flexural strength increases with increase in the reinforcement thickness. There is no much difference in the
flexural strength for 4mm thick composite for all types of fiber orientation. For 6mm thick samples flexural strength
variation is about 5Mpa for two different fiber types. For the samples 6mm to 8mm thickness, the flexural strength
lies almost constant. For each 1mm increment in the composite material thickness, 10% increment in the flexural
strength was noticed.

3.3 Compressive strength testing:

Compressive strength is the capacity of a material to withstand loads tending to reduce size. The compressive
strength test was performed on universal testing machine (M500-50KN). Figure 12 represents Universal testing
machine setup for compressive testing. Figure 13 represents the plot between compressive strength and composite
thickness.
25024 Samuel et al/ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026

Fig. 12. Universal Testing Machine setup for compressive testing

From the figure 13 it is evident that the composite material made of Ensete fiber reinforcement (Samples A, B, and
C) has superior compressive strength the banana fiber composite material (Sample D, E, and F). 6mm thick mat-
shaped fiber orientation sample B exhibits higher compressive strength. From the figure 13 also reveals that the
samples of 8mm thick Ensete fiber reinforced material possesses higher compressive strength than the banana fiber
composite material.

Fig. 13. Compressive Strength vs. Composite thickness

Figure 14 shows the SEM morphology of fiber surface when subjected to the tensile stress for both Ensete fiber and
Banana fiber. The samples of the fibers has taken from the fractured surface of tensile test sample and performed
SEM morphological analysis. Natural fibers have hydroxyl groups and hydrogen bonds can therefore be formed to
 Samuel et al / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026 25025

the surface of the natural fiber. However, the bond strength in natural fiber reinforced composite is decreased by the
absorption of moisture.

(a) (b)

Fig.14. SEM image of fibre surface subjected to tensile stress (a) Ensete fiber (b) Banana fiber

Figure 14 (b) it can be understand that the banana fiber produces thin flakes when it subjected to the axial loading,
whereas the failure of the Ensete fiber Figure 14 (a) is only due to tensile stress and there is no presence of any
flakes on the fiber surface. The formation of micro thin flakes on banana fibers on tensile loading could be the
reason for the less strength compared to Ensete fibers. The bonding interfacial adhesion between the natural fiber
and the polymer matrix is affected by mechanical interlocking, attractive forces and chemical bonds between the
natural fiber and the rein.

4. Conclusions

 The use of Enset fibers from naturally growing Enset plants as a reinforcement in composites reduces cost
and increases bio-degradability of the products hence to reduce environmental pollution. Thus the uses of
natural fiber may open the path of diversified application of environment friendly material in our trending
modern technology.
 The results also indicate that, fiber orientation, matrix type, fiber thickness are the significant factors
in determining the mechanical properties of composite using Enset as reinforcing material.
 The formation of micro thin flakes on the banana fiber surface on tensile loading could be the reason for
the decrement in the mechanical properties compared to the Ensete fiber
 It is observed that the composite made of Enset as reinforcement has better mechanical properties such as
tensile strength, flexural strength and compressive strength compared to banana fiber reinforced material.
25026 Samuel et al/ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 25016–25026

Acknowledgements

Authors would like to acknowledge and appreciate the support given by School of mechanical engineering for
providing the necessary resources and the help of technical staff at strength of materials lab, Jimma Institute of
Technology, Jimma University, Ethiopia.

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