The focus of our study was to evaluate and compare the mechanical properties, namely tensile and bending strength of natural fibre composites. Natural fibre composites are composites consisting of fibres made from plants and animals. The natural fibre chosen for this study was Tampico fibre. The moulds were made according to ASTM D638 and D790 standards for both tensile and bending specimens. The first set of composites were arranged in three different orientations namely uniaxial, biaxial and criss-cross. The moulds were prepared using the hand-lay-up technique. These fibres were combined with Epoxy LY-556 pitch and Hardener HY-951 in a specific proportion to make the composite. The second set of composites included an additional variant in the form of biaxial E-glass fibres of 270GSM density, to compare the differences in the mechanical strength. The X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were performed on the specimen to understand the lattice structure and prevalent bonds formed within the composites.
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