Mechanical Characterization of Kenaf Fiber (KF) and Jute Fiber (JF) Reinforced Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) Filled Epoxy-Based Hybrid Composites for Biomedical Applications

The objective of this study was to develop and examine hybrid composites reinforced with MWCNTs, jute fiber, and kenaf fiber in order to assess their potential for use in biomedical applications. Three composite specimens with various amounts of reinforcing were made using a hand layup technique: Ten percent of Kenaf fiber, ten percent of Jute fiber, five percent of MWCNTs, and seventy-five percent epoxy resin were found in Specimen 1 (KF10JF10M0.5); twenty percent of Kenaf fiber, twenty percent of Jute fiber, five percent of MWCNTs, and fifty-nine percent of epoxy resin were found in Specimen 2 (KF20JF20M1.0); and thirty percent of Kenaf fiber, thirty percent of Jute fiber, five percent of MWCNTs, and forty percent of epoxy resin were found in Specimen 3. The mechanical properties of the composites were determined using flexural strength, hardness, and tensile strength tests. The tensile strength of specimen 1 was 43.56 MPa; this increased to 49.43 MPa in specimen 2 (a 13.5% increase); additionally, the experimental tensile strength increased significantly with higher fiber and MWCNT content, reaching 56.74 MPa in specimen 3 (a 14.7% increase from Specimen 2 and a 30.3% increase from Specimen 1). The hardness measurements were 85.4 Shore D in Specimen 1, 50.7 Shore D (a 5.7% drop) in Specimen 2, and 75.6 Shore D (a 6.1% decline from Specimen 2 and an 11.5% decline from Specimen 1) in Specimen 3. From Specimen 1 to Specimen 3, the overall increase in flexural strength was 14.3%. It rose from 60.23 MPa in Specimen 1 to 75.32 MPa in Specimen 2 (a 25.1% increase), however it decreased to 68.86 MPa in Specimen 3 (8.6% decrease from Specimen 2). The outcomes show the validity of the prediction models. In particular, the observed and anticipated values for tensile and flexural strengths differed by 3.7% for Specimen 1, 2.1% for Specimen 2, and 1.9% for Specimen 3. It was observed that there is an inverse relationship between improved flexibility and reduced hardness, though the tensile strength of high-fiber and high-MWCNT containing hybrid composites enhanced significantly with increased fiber as well as MWCNTs content. These findings bring valuable insights into composite development for biomedical applications.