Mechanical behavior and finite element modeling of alkali-treated jute-roselle-sugarcane bagasse/epoxy ternary composites: Implications for light-duty logistics applications

The growing interest in lightweight and resource -efficient materials has stimulated the use of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites in non-engineering applications. This study investigates a jute-roselle-sugarcane bagasse ternary natural-fiber composite in an epoxy matrix using an integrated experimental and numerical approach. The fibers were immersed in 5% NaOH solution to increase the fiber-matrix interfacial compatibility and decrease the moisture sensitivity. Different composite laminates made using 10 wt%, 15 wt%, and 20 wt% of total fiber content were manufactured using the hand lay-up method, and their tensile, flexural, impact, hardness, and 24-h water-absorption properties were measured. The maximum tensile strength of 68.935 MPa and Young's modulus of 2.185 GPa were found for 10 wt% loading of fibers. The flexural strength was highest (31 MPa) at 20 wt% fiber loading, and the water absorption was lowest (1.27%) after 24 h for 15 wt% fiber loading. The differences make it clear that the total fiber loading can be used to control different performance targets. The ABAQUS homogenized model was able to capture experimental tensilestrength trends with deviations of less than 2% for the assumed modeling conditions. The 15 wt% and 20 wt% compositions are suggested as potential candidates for regions of logistics components with exposure to moisture and impact, respectively, in light -duty applications. The results will need to be validated further using neat-resin, binary-control, and prototype-level testing before they can be implemented in an application.