Abstract: The research work, “Development and Evaluation of Hybrid Biocomposites from Luffa and Banana fibres for below the knee prosthetic leg socket” was successfully carried out. Hybrid composites are one of the emerging fields in polymer science that are gaining attention for application in various sectors, such as health, building, aeronautic and automotive. In this study, Luffa and banana fibres were extracted and evaluated. Their characteristics were reported as potential alternative for harmful synthetic fibres (glass/carbon fibres) for below the knee prosthetic leg socket. Luffa and banana fibres were manually extracted and treated using 0.1mol solution of NaOH for 2 hours at room temperature. After the preliminary characterization, the treated and dried luffa/banana fibres were used to develop composites of woven banana fibre mat (WBF) and hybrid biocomposites of luffa particles (LP) and woven banana fibres (WBF) mat reinforced epoxy resin composites in predetermined proportions using the simple hand lay-up method. The composites were prepared according to America Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) standards and investigated for some mechanical properties. The treated and dried luffa/banana fibres were characterized using fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), and tensile strength. From the characterization tests, it was observed that (FTIR) analysis confirmed the presence of the different functional groups of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin absorbed on the structures of the fibres. X-ray diffraction and chemical composition characterization of treated banana fibre (TBF) showed two main diffraction peaks at angles approximately 16.12 and 23.140 corresponding to (100) and (170) lattice respectively. Crystallite size (1.45nm) of TBF minimizes water absorption. EDX spectrum of treated luffa fibre (TLF) showed a higher amount of iron intensity (90.66%) and calcium (80.13%) as the two main components in the chemical chain structure of cellulose. The maximum tensile strength was obtained at 38.5MPa for treated banana fibre. Entirely the aforementioned outcomes ensured that the WBF is the expected reinforcement to the fiber-reinforced composite materials in the application of prosthetic leg socket.
Keywords: Characterization tests, Mechanical properties, Luffa fibre, Banana fibre, Hybrid composites, Epoxy.
Title: Development and Evaluation of Hybrid Biocomposites from Luffa and Banana Fibres for Below the Knee Prosthetic Leg Socket
Author: W.A.Onuh, E.U.Akanimo, J.O.Sifon, A.H.Abdullahi
International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering Research
ISSN 2348-7607 (Online)
Vol. 12, Issue 2, October 2024 - March 2025
Page No: 242-251
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 21-March-2025
