The effect of different fiber

loading on flexural and thermal 1

properties of banana/pineapple
leaf (PALF)/glass hybrid
composite
Mohd Hanafee Zin 1 , Khalina Abdan 2 , Mohd Nurazzi Norizan 2
1
Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang,
Selangor, Malaysia; 2Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

1.1 Introduction
The rising awareness of sustainability in aviation industry has led to various research
studies being carried out in the natural resources domain. Natural fibers have been
widely used as effective reinforcement in polymer matrices. Fillers in the form of fibers
or particles are fabricated with polymers to obtain products with desired thermal, me-
chanical, and electrical properties. The properties of the fibrous composite materials
are mainly dependent on their respective fiber properties. Other factors affecting the
properties include the microstructural parameters such as fiber diameter, fiber length,
fiber distribution, fiber orientation, volume fraction of the fibers, and packing arrange-
ment of the fibers [1]. Natural fibers are biodegradable and a cheaper substitute for syn-
thetic fibers, such as glass and carbon. They possess a lot of advantages, such as
economical, low density, high toughness, ease of separation, and acceptable specific
strength properties. Despite numerous research studies being done on natural fiber-
reinforced composites, natural fibers do have some drawbacks such as hydrophilic na-
ture, which reduces the adhesive bonding with hydrophobic polymeric matric, as
mentioned by [2]. Natural fibers are also prone to sensitivity to humidity and UV ra-
diation, large variations in mechanical properties and low resistance on impact, as re-
ported by [3]. To overcome this issue, most of the research has focused on improving
interfacial properties between fiber reinforcement and polymer matrices through
methods such as chemical treatment to enhance mechanical properties of the end
products.
In the structural application domain, fiber-reinforced composites have gained a lot
of market potential due to the variety of usage. However, this market growth is

Structural Health Monitoring of Biocomposites, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

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2 Structural Health Monitoring of Bio-, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

somehow limited due to lack of toughness of FRP. The mechanical properties of nat-
ural fiber-reinforced composites are significantly improved with the incorporation of
synthetic fiber such as glass or carbon fiber.
Hybrid composites refer to a combination of two or more different materials
combined in a common matrix. Natural fibers have great potential to be utilized
as the substitution material especially for interior aircraft cabin parts. However,
since natural fibers do not have adequate strength to substitute for conventional
synthetic fiber, therefore hybrid composites are preferred. Hybridization of two
or more different materials is found to be an effective approach to design mate-
rials with different requirements and applications. Problems of high-cost syn-
thetic fibers and low mechanical properties of natural fibers can be overcome
by blending them in a common matrix. By having a hybrid composite, what lacks
in one material can be complemented by the strength of the other material. Pre-
vious study by Thwe and Liao [4] on bamboo/glass fiber-reinforced polymer ma-
trix hybrid composite depicted the improvement of tensile strength and modulus
for the hybrid composites by more than half as compared to unhybridized
composites.
In order to produce composite sample with better mechanical properties, it is
important to reduce hydrophobicity of the natural fibers through chemical modifi-
cations, as reported by Alavudeen et al. [5]. Various chemical modifications have
been conducted to improve fiber-matrix adhesion, including alkaline treatment,
benzoylation, acetylation, and many more. Alkaline treatment is one of the most
common and economical methods to improve hydrophobicity of natural fibers.
Asim et al. [6] investigated the effect of alkaline and silane treatment on mechan-
ical properties of kenaf and pineapple leaf fibers. They found out that silane and
NaOH treatment resulted in reduction of fiber diameter, due to removal of noncel-
lulosic material, as well as enhancing the tensile properties, as compared to un-
treated fibers. Another study by Mahuya and Chakraborty [7], on alkaline
treatment for bamboo, depicted that alkaline treatment resulted in lattice transfor-
mation from cellulose-I to cellulose-II. However, above 20% NaOH concentration,
mechanical properties started to deteriorate.
It is vital to determine the suitable composition of each element in hybrid composite
in order to obtain optimum desired mechanical properties. Moreover, by selecting the
appropriate composition between fibers and matrix, impact strength can be improved
through fiber matrix adhesion and internal stress transfer.
Fiber loading is one of the important factors affecting the strength of composite
sample. Fiber loading determines the load transfer within the composite sample,
thanks to the fiber-matrix bonding. Stronger interfacial adhesion between fiber
and matrix will lead to better mechanical properties, as reported by Mohsen
et al. [8].
This chapter focused on investigating the effect of different fiber loading on flexural
properties of banana/pineapple leaf fiber (PALF)/glass hybrid composite. Alkaline
treatment was conducted to improve adhesion between natural fibers and epoxy ma-
trix. Samples were fabricated using hot compression method, and underwent flexural
test per ASTM: D790.
The effect of different fiber loading on flexural and thermal properties 3

1.2 Material and method

Loose banana pseudo stem fiber and PALF were obtained from a local company in
Johor, Malaysia. The fibers were cut into 40 cm length. The synthetic fiber selected
was dry-woven E-Glass fabric (WR600) roving of 600 gsm. Woven glass fiber was
cut into 30 cm
30 cm size. Resin system used for the experiment was Epoxy Resin
DM15, with ratio between base and hardener (MEKP) of 5 to 1. The material proper-
ties for banana and PALF are shown in Table 1.1.
In this study, banana fiber was chemically treated with 6% sodium hydroxide
(NaOH) for 2 h immersion time, while PALF was treated with 6% NaOH for 3 h soak-
ing period. The fibers were dried for 24 h, followed by a postcure in the oven at 60 C
for 8 h in order to ensure removal of moisture from fiber.
Dry reinforcement was weighted per the calculated ratio. The composites reinforced
with three different volume percentages of fibers (30, 40, and 50 wt%) were prepared
for the study using the following formula:

Wf =rf
Vf ¼
½ðWf =rf Þ þ ðWm =rm Þ

where, Vf is fiber volume fraction (%), Wf and Wm are the weight (g) of fiber and
matrix, respectively, and rf and rm are the density (g/cm3) of fiber and matrix,
respectively.
The hybrid composite layup was set up following the combination shown in
Table 1.2.
Fig. 1.1 shows the setup of composite layup using the Wabash Hot Press Machine
50MT.
The layup sequence is shown in Fig. 1.2.
The layup sequence with glass woven as the core in the middle is designed in such a
way that most of the stress transferred due to flexural loading is absorbed by the natural
fiber layer at top and bottom layers in the composite sample.
Flexural test was conducted as per ASTM: D790 on 10 samples for each combina-
tion, and average values were obtained for analysis (Fig. 1.3).

Table 1.1 Material properties for banana, PALF fiber, and glass woven composites
Properties Banana fiber Pineapple leaf fiber Glass fiber
3
Density (kg/m ) 1350 1520 2550
Tensile Strength (MPa) 212 413 3400
Young’s Modulus (GPa) 8 34 71
Elongation at break (%) 2 1.6 3.4
4 Structural Health Monitoring of Bio-, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

Table 1.2 Composite layup combination

Combination Abbreviation Glass fiber Banana PALF Matrix

Glass Banana PALF (GBP) 1 1 (0.25) 1 (0.25) 1

30% Glass Banana (GB30) 1 1 (0.30) 0 1
40% Glass Banana (GB40) 1 1 (0.40) 0 1
50% Glass Banana (GB50) 1 1 (0.50) 0 1
30% Glass PALF (GP30) 1 0 1 (0.30) 1
40% Glass PALF (GP40) 1 0 1 (0.40) 1
50% Glass PALF (GP50) 1 0 1 (0.50) 1

Figure 1.1 Composite specimen fabrication using hot compression method.

Banana/PaLF
Glass
Banana/PaLF

Figure 1.2 Layup sequence of hybrid composite.

1.3 Morphology analysis

The surface microstructure of untreated and treated fibers were observed using Hitachi
S-3400N scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with the setting of 5.0 kV and a magni-
fication between 300 and 800 times. The morphological analysis was carried out to
examine the existence of interfacial adhesion between fibers and epoxy matrix. The
The effect of different fiber loading on flexural and thermal properties 5

Figure 1.3 Flexural testing as per ASTM: D790.

samples were coated with a thin layer of gold prior to scanning observation in order to
increase the sample conductivity as well as prevent electrostatic charging during sam-
ple examination. The images were analyzed to investigate the distribution of natural
fibers in the polymer matrix and their nature of interaction with each other.

1.4 Thermal stability analysis

The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed to evaluate the thermal proper-
ties of hybrid biocomposites of banana, PALF fiber, and woven glass using the TA In-
strument TGA Q500 with a temperature setting between 30 and 600 C and a rate of
10 C/min. The sample weights are between 4.9 and 8.9 g. Thermogravimetric analysis
measures the amount and the changing rate of material weight as a function of time or
temperature in a controlled atmosphere [9]. TGA can also be used to characterize the
effect of decomposition, oxidation, and dehydration on material’s weight loss or gain.
Nitrogen gas with flow rate of 20 mL/min was used, and each sample was run for 3 h.
The results are presented in graphical formdTG and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG)
curves. For TG curve, at the point of major weight loss, the 5% degradation onset was con-
ducted, while for DTG curve, the maximum rate of weight loss sample was identified.
Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests were conducted to analyze the visco-
elastic properties of the samples at different temperatures. The test involves the appli-
cation of an oscillatory strain at different temperatures and low frequencies, to a
specimen. Elastic storage modulus (E0 ) is the ratio of the elastic stress to strain, which
indicates the ability of a material to store energy elastically. The ratio of viscous stress
to strain is called viscous or loss modulus (E00 ) and is the measure of a material’s ability
to dissipate energy. The ratio of the viscous modulus to the elastic one is the tangent of
the phase angle shift between stress and strain.
6 Structural Health Monitoring of Bio-, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

1.5 Results and discussion

1.5.1 Flexural test
Fig. 1.4 shows the flexural strength for different fiber loading for banana/PALF/glass
composite combination.
The graph depicted increasing trend with higher fiber volume fraction. The flexural
strength for GB and GP composite increased from 30% to 40%, and showed reduction
at 50% fiber volume. At 40% fiber volume, GP40 recorded higher flexural strength of
105.10 MPa, which is equivalent to 16% difference as compared to GB40, which
recorded 90.95 MPa. The GBP sample illustrated the lowest flexural strength of
60.68 MPa. Based on the results, it can be seen that 40% fiber volume yielded the high-
est flexural strength for both GB and GP composite samples (Fig. 1.5).
During the flexural test, it was observed that the composite specimen did not fail
completely. For this hybrid composite, natural fiber and epoxy resin absorbed most
of the force applied during bending, since the fibers are placed on both top and bottom
layers, as shown in Fig. 1.6. The shear created between the matrix and fibers resisted
the external force, and when the stretching side failed, the force is transferred to the
glass fiber core. Higher fiber volume means greater shear created throughout the fibers
and matrix, hence resulting in greater force needed to break the sample. This result is
reflected through higher flexural stress recorded for higher fiber volume sample.
According to previous study, fiber volume fraction greater than 50% resulted in
reduction of the mechanical properties. This is due to the fact that the resin content
is insufficient to be absorbed by natural fibers in the composite sample, thus affecting
overall mechanical properties. Insufficient resin reduced the fiber-matrix bonding,
increased sample brittleness, hence making the sample fail prematurely in flexural test.

120.0
105.087

100.0 90.951
88.067
Flexural strength (MPa)

84.919
81.773
80.0 72.845
60.680

60.0

40.0

20.0

0.0
GB30 GB40 GB50 GP30 GP40 GP50 GBP
Fibre loading combination
Figure 1.4 Flexural strength for different fiber loading for banana/PALF/glass composite
combination.
The effect of different fiber loading on flexural and thermal properties 7

Specimen 1 to 10
140
Flexure stress (MPa)

120
Specimen #
100 1
2
80 3
4
60 5
6
7
40 8
9
20 10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Flexure strain (%)
Figure 1.5 Typical stressestrain curve for banana glass hybrid composite sample under flexural
loading.

Squeezing /
Glass compression
fibre Natural fibre
core Layers

Stretching
/ tension
Figure 1.6 The stress transfer diagram for hybrid biocomposite subjected to axial loading.

Flexural moduli of the composite samples are shown in Fig. 1.7.

The flexural modulus illustrated almost similar pattern to flexural strength. The flex-
ural modulus indicated highest value at 40% fiber volume for both GB and GP com-
posite samples. However, GP40 recorded superior flexural modulus of 7.61 GPa, as
compared to GB40, which recorded 4.24 GPa, indicating 79.59% difference. The
lowest flexural modulus was obtained from GBP samples of 2.07 GPa.
Flexural modulus indicates the stiffness of the material. The higher the flexural
modulus, the stiffer the material, and vice versa. Flexural modulus is related to tensile
strength. Therefore, the skin materials with higher tensile strength are able to absorb
more force, hence resulting in higher flexural modulus.

1.5.2 Image analyzer

Fig. 1.8(aed) showed the composite samples observed under the digital image
analyzer to measure the fiber diameter as well as fiber packing for different fiber
loading. For each composition, 10 samples were observed, and for each sample, 10
different measurements were taken and averaged.
Based on the observations, it can be seen that the fiber packing increased with incre-
ment of fiber weight percentage. This is most noticeable for composite sample with
50 wt% for both banana and PALF glass hybrid. The average measurement of fiber
diameter for banana is 0.20 mm, while PALF fiber diameter recorded average of
0.10 mm.
8 Structural Health Monitoring of Bio-, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

9.0
7.613
Flexure modulus (GPa)

8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0 4.239 4.311
3.384 4.019 3.903
4.0
3.0
2.069
2.0
1.0
0.0
GB30 GB40 GB50 GP30 GP40 GP50 GBP
Fibre loading combination
Figure 1.7 Flexural modulus for different fiber loading banana/PALF/glass composite
combination.

(a) (b) (c)

30wt% 40wt% 50wt%

(d) (e) (f)

30wt% 40wt% 50wt%

Figure 1.8 (aec): Image analyzer of banana-glass hybrid biocomposites. (def): Image analyzer
of PALF-glass hybrid biocomposites.

At 50 wt%, fiber bundles were obviously noticeable throughout the sample, which
could affect stress transfer from matrix to fiber reinforcement subjected to flexural loading.

1.5.3 Scanning Electron Microscopy

Fig. 1.9(aeg) shows the surface morphology of the composite sample at the failure
point due to flexural loading.
Fig. 1.9(a) depicted fractured surface for 30% weight fiber volume that contains
cavities, fiber pullout, and fracture with aggregation of fibers. Lower reinforcement
density led to low mechanical properties, as can be seen on Fig. 1.4. This is due to
The effect of different fiber loading on flexural and thermal properties 9

(a) (b)

8/16/2017 HV Mag WD Spot Det 20 µm 8/8/2017 HV Mag WD Spot Det 20 µm

12:28:08 PM 5.00 KV 5 000 x 7.2 mm 3.0 ETD ITMA 12:46:06 PM 5.00 KV 5 000 x 7.5 mm 3.0 ETD ITMA

Glass banana (30%) Glass banana (40%)

(c) (d)

8/16/2017 HV Mag WD Spot Det 20 µm 8/16/2017 HV Mag WD Spot Det 20 µm

12:10:17 PM 5.00 KV 5 000 x 5.3 mm 3.0 ETD ITMA 11:22:20 AM 5.00 KV 5 000 x 5.1 mm 3.0 ETD ITMA

Glass banana (50%) Glass PALF (30%)

(e) (f)

8/8/2017 HV Mag WD Spot Det 20 µm 8/8/2017 HV Mag WD Spot Det 20 µm

3:28:06 PM 5.00 KV 5 000 x 5.7 mm 3.0 ETD ITMA 2:58:17 PM 5.00 KV 5 000 x 6.2 mm 3.0 ETD ITMA

Glass PALF (40%) Glass PALF (50%)

Figure 1.9 (aec): Surface morphology of the banana-glass hybrid biocomposite sample at the
failure point due to flexural loading. (def): Surface morphology of the PALF-glass hybrid
biocomposite sample at the failure point due to flexural loading. (g): Glass Banana PALF.
10 Structural Health Monitoring of Bio-, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

inadequate strength to withhold the load transfer from epoxy matrix when subjected to
flexural loading.
At 50% weight fiber volume, the fiber packing showed higher density. However,
due to hydrophilic nature of banana fiber, more resin is needed to coat the entire fibers
in the composite sample. Inadequate resin resulted in low mechanical properties, as
depicted in Figs. 1.4 and 1.5. This is due to insufficient physical adhesion between fi-
bers and epoxy matrix.
Fig. 1.9(def) illustrated surface morphology for glass-PALF composite with
different fiber weight volume composition. The presence of epoxy resin deposited
along the PALF fiber showed existence of interfacial adhesion between matrix and fi-
ber, hence contributed to good mechanical properties of composite sample. At 40%
weight fiber volume, the sample showed fiber breakage subjected to flexural loading.
This indicated that the stress has been transferred from epoxy matrix to PALF fiber
prior to sample failure. At 50% weight fiber volume, insufficient epoxy matrix intro-
duced numerous voids leading to a lower flexural modulus of the composite, which
behave as plastic material resisting the deformation.
Fig. 1.6(g) showed surface morphology of glass-banana-PALF composite sample.
The lower flexural strength of GBP composite may be attributed to the restriction of
macromolecular mobility and deformability imposed by the presence of glass woven
fiber in epoxy matrix.

1.5.4 Thermogravimetric analysis

TGA analysis curves of composite samples are shown in Fig. 1.10(a and b), and DTG
curves are shown in Fig. 1.10(c and d), and the data are simplified in Table 1.2.
For banana hybrid composite samples, the major degradation is as shown in
Fig. 1.10(a), which occurred in the temperature range of 273e427 C at a peak at
349 C, while for the PALF hybrid composite samples, degradation occurred in the
range of 253e426 C at a peak at 341 C. From the graph, it can be noticed that there
are four phases of thermal degradation. The first mass loss, recorded between 30 and
100 C, could be due to moisture evaporation. The next phase is between 130 and
380 C for hybrid biocomposites, due to the decomposition of the components hemi-
cellulose, cellulose, and lignin.
According to a previous researcher, the hemicellulose decomposed at 220 C and
completed at 315 C. The cellulose decomposition will only take place after hemicel-
lulose has completely decomposed. Cellulose has better thermal stability, due to the
crystalline structure of their cellulose chain. Lignin possessed the highest thermal sta-
bility as it decomposes slowly, starting from around 160 C and extending up to 900 C.
This is due to the fact that lignin is the toughest component that gives rigidity to the
plant materials. As lignin is completely decomposed, the leftover residue is inorganic
material such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), in the fiber that can only be decomposed
at very high temperature of 1700 C and above. As mentioned in a current study, after
the final thermal degradation, black carbonaceous residues were present [10].
Fig. 1.10(a and b) indicated an increase decomposition temperature for banana and
PALF, due to higher fiber content (40%). For banana at 40% fiber weight volume, the
The effect of different fiber loading on flexural and thermal properties 11

100 B30 100 P30

(a) 336.96°C
349.12°C
B40
B50
GBP (b) 336.96°C P40
P50
GBP
80 80 319.46°C 341.14°C
327.29°C
313.78°C
Weight (%)

Weight (%)
60 328.03°C 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)
12 B30 10 B30
(c) B40
B50
GBP
(d) B40
B50
10 GBP
8
Deriv. weight (%/min)

8 Deriv. weight (%/min)

6
6
4
4
2
2

0 0

–2 –2
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)

Figure 1.10 (a): Effect of fiber loading on thermal stability of the banana glass hybrid
biocomposites. (b): Effect of fiber loading on thermal stability of the PALF glass hybrid
biocomposites. (c): Effect of fiber loading on derivative thermogravimetric analysis of the
banana glass hybrid biocomposites. (d): Effect of fiber loading on derivative
thermogravimetric analysis of the PALF glass hybrid biocomposites.

onset degradation is 349.12 C, while for PALF with similar setting is 341.14 C. The
ash content for banana and PALF at 40% fiber weight volume are 10.35% and 9.381%
respectively.
Fig. 1.10(c and d) illustrated DTG curves for banana and PALF hybrid bio-
composites. Based on DTG curve, there was a minor peak in temperature range be-
tween 310 and 350 C. At this temperature, fiber was heated and the moisture
content evaporated due to heating process.
Peak temperature from DTG occurred at 411.48 C with 10.07 C/min rate indi-
cating increase in the maximum rate of weight loss at 0.4Vf for banana hybrid compos-
ite samples. There was a similar pattern for PALF whereby the maximum peak
temperature was recorded at 403.24 C with the rate of 9.36 C/min. (Table 1.3)

1.5.5 Dynamic mechanical analysis

The DMA has been an instrumental tool to study the behavior of composite structure.
DMA is an effective method to investigate the relaxations in polymers, as well as
behavior of the materials under multiple conditions of stress, temperature, and phase
12 Structural Health Monitoring of Bio-, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

composition of fiber composites, and its function in determining the mechanical prop-
erties. Storage modulus cure of both banana-glass and PALF-glass hybrid bio-
composite are shown in Fig. 1.11(a and b).
Fig. 1.11(a and b) showed the effect of temperature on the dynamic modulus (E0 ) of
banana, PALF, and glass hybrid biocomposite with varying fiber weight fractions
(0.3e0.5Vf) at a frequency of 20 Hz. At low temperature, there is slight variation on
storage modulus for matrix and composites, indicating lesser contribution of the fibers
toward the stiffness of the material at low temperature. For both banana and PALF
hybrid composites, storage modulus decreases with temperature. Higher fiber weight
fraction imparts stiffness to the composite sample. However, the stiffness decreases
with increasing temperature. At low fiber weight fraction (0.3Vf) for PALF, lowest
storage modulus was recorded at 70 C, as compared to 0.4 and 0.5Vf. This is due to
the rise in molecular mobility of the polymer chains above the Tg. The drop in modulus
passing through the glass transition temperature is reduced for higher fiber loading
composites, indicating the reinforcement effect of banana and PALF that improved
sample strength and rigidity.
Based on the graph, for glass PALF composite there is a shift in glass transition
temperature for sample from 0.3Vf to 0.4Vf, which is from 77.92 to 100.46 C, respec-
tively. This indicated that higher fiber loading increases rigidity of the sample, which
leads to higher temperature needed to move the molecular structure, before the sample
changes from glassy to rubbery stage. The composite containing 50 wt% PALF glass
fiber displayed a decrease in damping peak (Tan d) amplitude with regard to 40 wt%
sample by 24.9% to 75.09 C. Increase in fiber packing led to excessive absorption of
resin matrix, which in turn increased brittleness of the composite sample that resulted
in lower glass transition temperature.
However, for PALF, the trend is slightly different whereby the sample with lowest
fiber loading (30 wt%) exhibited the highest glass transition temperature of 112.70 C,
whereas the highest fiber loading (50 wt%) shifted the Tg to 91.35 C.

Table 1.3 TGA analysis of banana, PALF, and glass hybrid composites
% Mass loss change % Mass loss from first Total % Onset of
from 278C to first to second inflection of mass degradation
Sample inflection points loss (8C)

B30 10.44 72.89 83.33 327.29

B40 7.479 81.73 89.21 349.12
B50 10.60 69.38 79.98 328.03
P30 5.559 81.41 86.97 319.46
P40 7.656 82.20 89.86 341.14
P50 7.479 80.34 87.82 313.78
GBP 7.108 81.75 88.86 336.96
The effect of different fiber loading on flexural and thermal properties 13

2000
(a) B30.001
B40.001
B50.001
GBP.001

1500
Storage modulus(MPa)

1000

500

0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Universal V4.5A TA instruments
Temperature(ºc)

2000
(b) GBP.001
P30.001
P40.001
P50.001

1500
Storage modulus(MPa)

1000

500

0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Universal V4.5A TA instruments
Temperature(ºc)
Figure 1.11 (a): Effect of fiber loading with temperature on the storage modulus values of the
banana glass hybrid biocomposites. (b): Effect of fiber loading with temperature on the storage
modulus values of the PALF glass hybrid biocomposites. (c): Effect of fiber loading with
temperature on the tan delta values of the banana glass hybrid biocomposites. (d): Effect of
fiber loading with temperature on the tan delta values of the PALF glass hybrid biocomposites.
14 Structural Health Monitoring of Bio-, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

0.6
(c) 67.33ºC
B30.001
B40.001
0.5379 B50.001
75.09ºC GBP.001
0.5076

100.46ºC
77.92ºC 0.4362
0.4424

0.4
Tan delta

0.2

0.0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Temperature(ºc)

0.6
P30.001
(d) 67.18ºC 80.16ºC P40.001
0.5369 0.5384 P50.001
GBP.001
91.35ºC
0.4635

112.70ºC
0.4 0.3806
Tan delta

0.2

0.0
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Temperature(ºc)
Figure 1.11 cont'd.
The effect of different fiber loading on flexural and thermal properties 15

Generally, PALF hybrid exhibits higher Tg than banana hybrid samples in all fiber-
loading composition. This result indicated that PALF has higher thermal stability as
compared to banana fiber.
The dynamic Tg refers to the temperature where the middle point of E0 versus
temperature curve or the region where E0 increases with increasing frequency at
constant temperature. Another way to define Tg is by looking at the maximum of
where the Tan d occurs or maximum of where the E00 occurs, as mentioned by
Saba et al. [11]. Glass transition temperature is the temperature range where a ther-
mosetting polymer changes from a ‘‘glassy,” rigid state to a more pliable or
‘‘rubbery” state.
There is a difference between melting temperature (Tm) and Tg, as at melting point
the material begin to melts while at (Tg) the material gets softer. Melting temperature
of crystalline form is usually higher than the Tg, provided the polymer has both crys-
talline and amorphous form. Above the Tm temperature, the polymer is in the rubbery
stage, while below it, the polymer is in the glassy or brittle stage. The glass transition is
a transition that happens to amorphous polymers at Tg.
The higher the Tg, the greater the cross-linked density, which then leads to higher
polymer modulus value of the system. The effects of cross-linking on the various re-
gions of the DMA curve are visible in rubbery and glass transition region. However, in
the glassy region, both the loss and storage moduli are independent of the degree of
cross-linking. Thus, highly cross-linked thermoset polymer has much larger loss and
storage moduli, indicating the tighter network structure and higher stiffness, whereas
the polymer of lightly cross-linked shows considerable smaller storage and loss
modulus, as also reported by previous researchers [12] (Table 1.4).
Previous study reported that the reinforced fiber could improve E’ due to the
stiffening effect of fiber with matrix and eventually decreased the damping curve
of polymer matrix [13]. They further acknowledged that damping property of
fiber-reinforced composite materials depends on various parameters such as fric-
tional resistance, fiber/matrix interface, interphase zone, matrix cracking, and fiber
breakage.

Table 1.4 DMA analysis of banana, PALF, and glass hybrid biocomposites

Combination Storage modulus Loss modulus Tan delta

B30 60.11 70.73 77.92

B40 77.94 91.73 100.23
B50 53.16 66.91 75.13
P30 96.64 107.34 112.63
P40 61.16 70.81 80.34
P50 65.18 81.79 91.39
GBP 31.13 31.13 67.38
16 Structural Health Monitoring of Bio-, Fibre-Reinforced Composites and Hybrid Composites

1.6 Conclusion
Increasing fiber volume improves the flexural strength of the composite samples. The
optimum fiber volume composition is 40 wt% for both banana and PALF hybrid com-
posites. At 40 wt%, banana glass hybrid composite yielded flexural strength of
90.951 MPa, while PALF glass hybrid recorded 105.087 MPa. The flexural modulus
also indicated similar trend with 4.219 and 7.613 GPa for banana-glass and PALF-
glass hybrid composite at 0.4Vf. TGA test suggested that 40 wt% offered optimum
onset degradation temperature for both banana-glass and PALF-glass hybrid compos-
ite. DMA analysis showed a shift in the Tg for banana-glass hybrid composite, from 30
to 40 wt%, indicating optimum condition that contributed to molecular structure sta-
bility of the composite sample.

Acknowledgments
This study was conducted in a collaborative laboratory known as the “Sustainable Aviation,” a
joint lab with Aerospace Malaysia Innovation Centre, Universiti Putra Malaysia, and University
of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, under Project no. BFeP06.

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