Investigation of Mechanical and Morphological analysis of natural fiber hybrid composites.

Natural fiber-based composites become more popular as the demand for lightweight, high-strength materials for specialized applications grows. Moreover, natural fiber-based composites have greater durability, stiffness, and damping resistance. Researchers developed a wide variety of composites for different applications. This study aims to develop a hybrid composite using Acacia arabica and Sida cordifolia fibers as a reinforcement and epoxy as a resin. The fibers were treated using 5% NaOH solution. Six samples were prepared by varying the proportion of fibers and resin. The performance of the composites was measured by conducting the tensile, flexural, impact, and hardness tests. The alkaline-treated sample with 70% fiber and 30% resin (S6) exhibits a greater tensile strength of 384 MPa which shows much improvement in tensile strength when compared to other samples. The mechanical properties of the hybrid composites are better than many other composites available in literature. The surface morphological analysis and water absorption tests were also carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]