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In today’s scenario, the research fraternity is shifting focus from synthetic fiber reinforced composites to natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFRPCs) to fulfill the sustainability goals. India stands first in the cultivation of banana and second in the cultivation of sugarcane. Therefore, these fibers are selected as reinforcement for the current research investigation. The hand-lay-up technique was employed for the development of composite specimens. Mechanical properties of composites were experimentally recorded in terms of tensile and flexural strength, and it was observed that mixing of fibers (short) in the epoxy resulted in enhanced mechanical properties. The strength of composite was observed to increase for both types of specimens as the percentage of reinforcement increased. Increment of 12.5% and 49.7% in tensile strength was reported for 15 BGFEC and 20 BGFEC as compared to 10 BGFEC. Similarly, 27.3% and 39.9% increment in tensile strength was reported for 15 BFEC and 20 BFEC as compared to 10 BFEC. Joining behavior of NFRPCs was investigated using an adhesive bonding technique with three different joint configurations, with epoxy filled holes in overlap area (J-1: pure epoxy; J-2: four drilled holes, 2 mm diameter; and J-3: four drilled holes, 4 mm diameter). The experimental results revealed that different hole configurations have shown significant improvement on joint strength as compared to pure epoxy. The joint strength of J-2 and J-3 configuration was improved due to anchorage/hinge effect provided by adhesive present inside the holes in the overlap area. Among all the joint configurations, J-3 joint configuration of 15% BFEC has shown highest joint strength in terms of failure load.

The following books are reviewed: Digital Logic and Microcomputer Design, 5th Ed. (Rafiquzzaman, M.; 2005); Engineering Thin Films and Nanostructures with Ion Beams (Knystautas, E., Ed.); Advanced Electronic Packaging, 2nd Ed. (Ulrich, R.N. and Brown, W.D.; 2006); Passive Micro-Optical Alignment Methods (Boudreau, R.A. and Boudreau, S.M., Eds.; 2005); Fundamentals of Wireless Communication (Tse, D. And Viswanath, P.; 2005); Theory of Remote Image Formation (Blahut, R.E.; 2005); Synthesis of Arithmetic Circuits (Deschamps, J. et al.; 2006); Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization (Schroder, D.K.; 2006); Design of Interconnection Networks for Programmable Logic (Lemieux, G. and Lewis, D.; 2003); Noise in High-Frequency Circuits and Oscillators (Schiek, B. et al.; 2006); Fiber to the Home: The New Empowerment (Green, P.E., Jr.; 2005); Fundamentals of Semiconductor Manufacturing and Process Control (May, G.S. and Spanos, C.J.; 2006); WCDMA Design Handbook (Richardson, A.; 2005); Phaselock Techniques, 3rd Ed. (Gardner, F.M.; 2005); Microwave Devices, Circuits and Subsystems (Glover, I.A. et al., Eds.; 2005); Modern Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Power Electronics (Barker, R.J. et al.; 2005); Fundamentals of Telecommunications, 2nd Ed. (Freeman, R.L.; 2005); Designing Digital Computer Systems with Verilog (Lilja, D.J. and Sapatnekar, S.S.; 2005).