Influence of lignite fly ash on the structural and mechanical properties of banana fiber containing epoxy polymer matrix composite

The present work deals with the influence of lignite fly ash (LFA) on the physical properties of polymer matrix composite (PMC). The study was conducted on different compositions of PMC which were prepared using epoxy polymer (EP) amalgamated with LFA and banana fiber (BF) by hand layup process. The different compositions were prepared in the combination of (80-x)EP-20BF-xLFA (where x = 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10wt%). LFA was added in increasing amounts ranging from 2.5 to 10%, and the physical properties were evaluated. An increase in mechanical properties such as tensile strength, compressive strength, flexural strength and EPBF hardness was observed after the addition of LFA. The observed tensile, flexural strengths and Barcol hardness for the sample containing 5wt% of LFA contained to 53.280 MPa, 37.756 MPa and 13.66, respectively, were showed its better mechanical strength than all other samples. The observed scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed the minimal voids and fiber pullouts were observed during the addition 5% of LFA contained. Collectively, from the results, it can be deduced that PMC with 5% LFA has better mechanical strength than all the other prepared PMC samples.