FABRICATION AND INVESTIGATION OF BANANA FIBER AND JUTE FIBER REINFOERCED COMPOSITE MATERIAL

Abstract

In the current scenario Automobile industry focuses on enhancing the strength and reducing the weight of body parts. The fuel efficiency and emission regulation of two wheelers are two important issues in these days. The best way to increase the fuel efficiency without sacrificing safety is to employ fiber reinforced composite materials used for the two wheeler. In this study two wheeler mudguard which is used to protect the mud and rain water placed on front and rear wheel is considered for investigations. Mudguard is the one of the part having more weight and in my work, the existing steel/ABS plastic mudguard replace with composite mudguard. The fabrication of composite material is made up of Epoxy resin with banana and jute reinforced polymer is carried out and weight of the mudguard will reduce. In this work, fabrication of Banana and jute fiber composite material is completed and its mechanical properties like hardness, tensile strength etc., are calculated and analyzed. Experimental testings are conducted before and after curing with four different sample ratios. The maximum values are obtained for the sample ratios (40:60, 50:50)