Polyester composites of short banana fibre and glass fibres. The tensile and impact properties

Variations in tensile and impact properties of banana fibre reinforced polyester composities caused by the addition of glass fibre have been analysed. Banana fibre in combination with glass is excellent for making cost effective composite materials. The effects of the arrangement of glass and banana fibres in the preparation of composites have also been studied. A volume fraction of 0.11 glass mixed with banana fibre gives a 54.5% increase in the tensile strength and a 196% increase in the impact strength of the composites. The tensile strength increases linearly as the glass content is raised and attains the highest value when the glass volume fraction 0.17 is used and an interleaving arrangement of glass and banana fibres is followed. At lower volume fractions of glass, an intimate mixture of banana fibre and glass shows the highest tensile strength. The impact strength shows the highest value when a glass volume fraction of 0.11 is used.