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In this work, a thermal behaviour comparison of a new bamboo-based and banana-based Green Bio-Composites (GBC) is conducted using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and cone-calorimeter experiments. An Intumescent Fire-Retardant (IFR) coating (a mixture of Exolit IFR36 and boric acid) has been applied on the investigated GBC materials in order to explore the flammability resistance of such GBCs. Vacuum Bag Resin Transfer Moulding (VBRTM) technique has been used to manufacture the samples. TGA test have been conducted under oxidative atmosphere with three different heating rates while cone calorimeter tests have been performed with a horizontally exposure on the top surface of the sample. The outcomes of TGA revealed that Bamboo-based (BM-GBC) and Banana-based (Bn-GBC) materials exhibited similar thermal degradation patterns. However, BM-GBC outperformed Bn-based in the cone calorimetry analysis, this is proven by the fire reaction parameters as well as the higher char residue. In addition, IFR coating improved the flame retardancy of both GBCs, reduced the Peak Heat Release Rate (PHRR) by approximately 40–50% and smoke production (SEA) by 26%. SEM and EDS analysis of char residue were performed to deeply investigate the effectiveness of the IFR as a protecting layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effect of some fabric reinforcement parameters (fabric direction, yarn type and stacking sequence) on the mechanical properties of textile based hybrid composites are analysed by using full factorial experimental design method. The analysis of the results is achieved by using Minitab 17 software program. One factor (fabric reinforcement direction) with two levels (warp direction and weft direction) and two factors (yarn type and stacking sequence) with three levels (jute/glass, jute/carbon, glass/carbon and consecutive, low strength inside, high strength inside) are selected as the reinforcement design. Full factorial experimental design analysis results indicate that, the highest tensile and impact strength values among the experimental design are realised when samples are taken from the warp direction and E-glass/carbon combination is chosen as the yarn (material) type. Moreover, it is verified that while higher tensile strength is achieved by placing higher strength fabrics to the inner layers, higher impact strength is achieved by placing high strength fabrics to the outer layers of hybrid composite structures. Analysis of variance tables also show that at 95% confidence level, the effects of the factors are statistically significant (p < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, four plied jute, carbon, E-glass fabric-reinforced and their hybridized composites are manufactured. Nine composite laminates with different stacking sequences are manufactured by vacuum infusion technique. In order to understand the structure of the composites, fiber weight and fiber volume ratios in the laminate system are initially figured out. Furthermore, void fractions of samples are calculated by using theoretical and experimental densities of the composite samples to examine the impact of amount of fiber content on the void fraction. The effect of hybridizing jute fabric-reinforced polyester composite with E-glass fabric and carbon fabric and also the effect of stacking sequence of fabric layers on the mechanical properties (tensile strength, impact strength) of composite laminates are investigated. According to the outcomes of this investigation, it is realized that incorporating high impact resistant fibers to the outer layers of the composites leads to higher impact resistance, and placing high tensile strength fibers at the inner layers results in higher tensile strength at the hybrid composite laminates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]