Recently, there has been an inclination towards natural fibre reinforced polymer composites owing to their merits such as environmental friendliness, light weight and excellent strength. In the present study, six laminates were fabricated consisting of natural fibres such as Kenaf fibre (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) and Bamboo fibre, together with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as reinforcing fillers in the epoxy matrix. Mechanical testing revealed that hybridization of natural fibres was capable of yielding composites with enhanced tensile properties. Additionally, impact testing showed a maximum improvement of ≈80.6% with the inclusion of MWCNTs as nanofiller in the composites with very high energy absorption characteristics, which were attributed to the high specific energy absorption of carbon nanotubes. The viscoelastic behaviour of hybridised composites reinforced with MWCNTs also showed promising results with a significant improvement in the glass transition temperature (Tg) and 41% improvement in storage modulus. It is worth noting that treatment of the fibres in NaOH solution prior to composite fabrication was effective in improving the interfacial bonding with the epoxy matrix, which, in turn, resulted in improved mechanical properties.

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Composite materials are preferred in all engineering applications, because of their superior properties over the traditional materials. Among composite materials, Natural fiber reinforced polymer finds rapid development in industrial applications and many areas of research. In this paper, thermal properties of Sisal-Glass fiber reinforced epoxy composites are studied to assess the influence of different fiber orientation. Thermal properties of the composite are analyzed using Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) to investigate the influence of change in fiber orientation.

Composite materials are preferred in all engineering applications, nowadays, because of their superior properties over the traditional materials. Among Composite materials, Natural fiber reinforced polymer finds rapid development in Industrial applications and many areas of research. The main advantageous features of these composites are Renewability, Biodegradability and low cost. They are less dense and also easily available. These Natural fibers replace synthetic fibers in many important applications like Automobiles, Aerospace, etc. This paper reviews the research work carried on different types of Natural fibers reinforced polymer along with their preparation and properties, especially Sisal and Banana fibers.