Thermo-mechanical and structural characteristics of hybrid nanofiller and natural fibre strengthened biodegradable composite laminates

The development of light weight biodegradable hybrid nanofillers and hybrid natural fibre laminates constitute a major step forward in the field of sustainable materials research. This study focuses towards hybrid nanofillers made of graphene nanoplatelets and multi-walled carbon nanotubes in combined proportion of 3 wt.% is added in hybrid natural fibre (NF) of bamboo fibre (BF) and kenaf fibre (KF) stacked in the sequence of BFO+KFO+BFO+KFO+BFO (BKF1), BF9O+KFO+BF9O+KFO+BF90 (BKF2), BFO+KF9O+BFO+KF90+BFO (BKF3), and BF9O+KF9O+BF90+KF90+BF90 (BKF4) using vacuum infusion technique, followed by compression moulding. The biodegradable polymer designated as poly-lactic acid (PLA) served as matrix and the mechanical testing were performed on manufactured specimens viz., tensile strength, % elongation, shore D hardness, impact, interlaminar shear, and flexural strength, and thermo-mechanical testing in accordance with ASTM recommendations. The results show that aligning the fibres seems to make the laminates’ thermo-mechanical and mechanical properties better. The BKF3 sample beats the other laminates because it is more stable in heat and has better mechanical properties.