Exploring the mechanical thermal and acoustic properties of a reinforced epoxy composite utilizing jute snake grass and kenaf fibers with and without annona reticulata seed filler

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing global interest in newlinedeveloping sustainable and eco-friendly composite materials utilizing newlinerenewable resources. Natural fibers obtained from plants have emerged as newlinepromising reinforcements for polymer matrix composites owing to their newlineadvantages over synthetic fibers, such as low cost, low density, high specific newlineproperties, biodegradability, and reduced environmental impact. However, newlinesome drawbacks of natural fibers, like poor adhesion with hydrophobic newlinepolymer matrices, moisture absorption tendency, and low thermal stability, newlinehave limited their incorporation in structural and high-performance newlineapplications. To address these challenges, different approaches have been newlineexplored, including chemical treatments of fibers, hybridization with synthetic newlinefibers, and the addition of nano-fillers. newlineThis thesis focuses on developing and characterizing novel natural newlinefiber-reinforced hybrid composites (NFRHCs) made from jute, snake grass, newlinekenaf fibers, and Annona reticulata seed powder. The effect of alkali newlinetreatment of fibers and varying filler content on the mechanical, thermal, newlineacoustic, and tribological properties of the NFRHCs is systematically newlineinvestigated. The use of natural Annona reticulata powder as a nano-filler newlineaims to enhance the composite properties in an eco-friendly and sustainable newlinemanne newline