Processing and Testing of Epoxy Polymer Composites using Tender Palm Shoot Fiber and Aluminium Particles as Hybrid Reinforcements

Every year tons of plant and animal wastes are produced in the world. Some of these waste products may find some potential application in our day-to-day life. Also pure polymers are non-biodegradable and usually don’t possess requisite mechanical strength. For the first time, tender palm shoots are used as fiber reinforcement in the epoxy resin. The main objective is to compare and fabricate natural fiber reinforced hybrid epoxy composites with tender palm shoots, palymra fiber, as natural reinforcements which are generally leftovers and Aluminium powder as conductive filler by hand lay-up process at various weight percentages. Different mechanical properties, water absorption characteristics, flammability and electrical conductivity are evaluated as per ASTM standards. The test results show that these composites can be used as alternative materials for low tensile and high impact applications.