Characterization of Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites

P. Hema Aditya, K. Siva Kishore, D.V.V. Krishna Prasad

With advancements in the methods of research, the branch of Material science has seen its extremes but there are some areas upon which much attention should be focussed. One such area is the natural composites. Taking the ecological problems created by synthetic material into account, there is a need to search for the alternatives for which the nature gives answer which furnishes us with a wide variety of plant material with extraordinary properties leaving us to explore its engineering applications. This work focuses on the extraction of fibers from pineapple leaf, sisal plant, and date palm leaf. Hand layup technique is being used to prepare the samples of composites. ASTM standards are being followed while fabricating the natural fiber reinforced composite. The properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength and hardness are to be studied. The corresponding strengths are to be compared to select the best alternative.