Mechanical properties of seaweed/banana fiber/hBN filled epoxy composites using Box–Behnken method

Natural particulate reinforced polymer (NPRP) composites are developed to replace synthetic fibers, aiming to reduce costs and environmental impact. Industries such as automotive, electronics, construction and aerospace are turning to filler-reinforced polymer composites and natural bio-fibers to enhance structural properties and develop eco-friendly products. This article presents research on epoxy-based composites fortified with natural and ceramic micro-sized fillers, including seaweed filler (SF), banana fiber (BF) and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), fabricated using the hand layup technique. Through experiments, the effect of filler loading on the enhancement of mechanical properties such as tensile strength (TS), toughness (T), Young's modulus (YM), resilience (R) and yield strength (YS) of multiphase hybrid composites is investigated. Incorporating mixtures of ceramic filler and natural fillers into the epoxy matrix improves mechanical properties. The results demonstrated that the interlaced composites achieved optimum mechanical properties for S6 sample, including a TS of 24.85 MPa, T of 25.47 MJ/m 3 , YM of 7.15 GPa, R of 0.698 MJ/m 3 and YS of 3.34 MPa. In comparison with S11 samples, the mechanical properties such as TS, T, YM, R and YS of the S6 composite sample are increased by 110.95%, 57.8%, 450%, 501.7% and 292.9%, respectively. The tensile fracture's scanning electron images reveal a homogenous surface with the formation of a fractured surface and defects. Statistical analysis at a 96% confidence level revealed the significance of the interaction between natural and ceramic micro particulate on the TS of the developed interlaced composite material, with a p-value of 0.007.