Fabrication and Characterization of Untreated Waste Paper and Banana Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Composite

This research investigates the mechanical properties of epoxy-based hybrid composites reinforced with untreated waste paper and banana fibers. Three samples were fabricated using the hand layup method: one without fibers and two with banana fibers, while keeping resin content fixed at 80%. Different mechanical tests like Tensile, Hardness, Flexural, Impact, Water absorption and Density test were conducted for characterization of the composites. Among the three fabricated samples, the composite with the highest paper content (20%) demonstrated superior mechanical properties. This improvement can be attributed to better fiber–matrix bonding and a more uniform distribution of reinforcement within the resin. Specifically, this sample achieved a tensile strength of 21.82 MPa, hardness of 90 HRB, flexural strength of 10.37 MPa, the highest impact strength of 19,911.5 J/m², and the lowest water absorption rate of 2.58%. However, banana fiber was incorporated into both of the remaining samples, among which the specimen with a higher fiber-to-paper ratio (10% fiber + 10% paper) exhibited more favorable performance than the sample containing the lowest fiber proportion (5% fiber + 15% paper). This indicates that a balanced ratio of fiber and paper provides more favorable mechanical properties than an unbalanced composition with excessive paper and minimal fiber.