Int. Polym. Proc.

2024; 39(1): 115–124

Research Article

Danish Tahir*, Muhammad Ramzan Abdul Karim and Hong Hu

Analysis of mechanical and water absorption

properties of hybrid composites reinforced with
micron-size bamboo fibers and ceramic particles
https://doi.org/10.1515/ipp-2023-4374 1 Introduction
Received March 25, 2023; accepted October 25, 2023;
published online November 20, 2023
Because of their environmental friendliness, biodegradability,
and high strength, natural fiber-reinforced composites (NFCs)
Abstract: Bamboo and its hybrid composites were made
are receiving a lot of attention (Karim et al. 2020; Zhao et al.
using the hand lay-up method to evaluate the change in
2022). Due to the requirements for high strength and
mechanical and physical properties that occurred through
economically better composites, substitutes of conventional
filler addition. Density measurements and tensile test results
materials have always been proposed to serve the same pur-
showed an increment in values when a certain percentage of
pose (Jagadish and Bhowmik 2021). The mechanical perfor-
silicon carbide (SiC) was added. As the SiC percentage grows
mance of NFCs is extremely significant and to escalate it,
from 0 to 6 %, the density of the hybrid composite increases
various efforts have been put in. Improvement in mechanical
from 1.15 to 1.36 gm/cc whereas tensile strength increases
properties is dependent on numerous factors which include
from 37 MPa to 42 MPa when 4 wt% SiC is added in 20 wt% of
the fiber volume, filler content, fiber/matrix adhesion, and
the bamboo composite. The scanning electron microscopy
fiber type (Hassan et al. 2020; Prabhakar et al. 2022; Ramzan
(SEM) analysis of tensile fractured samples further sup-
et al. 2020). Besides, homogenous dispersion of the fibers
ported the improvement in tensile characteristics. To
examine the impact and hardness characteristics, compos- and added filler are important parameters that need to be
ites were subjected to the Charpy impact test and hardness continuously regulated during mixing. Agglomeration due to
test. 4 wt% of SiC addition in 20 wt% of the bamboo com- poor dispersion might reduce the composite’s overall strength
posite decreased the impact strength from 28.79 to 27.43 (Cruz-Riaño et al. 2021). Poor uniformity can also lead to the
(×10−3 kJ/m2) and increased the hardness from 44 to 55 Hv. composite failing catastrophically (Dasore et al. 2022). There-
The composites’ water absorption behavior demonstrated fore, a uniform distribution of fibers and filler is very much
that the addition of filler lifts the composite’s resistance to needed for mechanical strength enhancement (Abdul Karim
absorbing water, preserving the composites’ dimensional et al. 2022). Fiber content/volume inside the composite also
firmness and mechanical qualities. plays a strength-determining role in increasing mechanical
strength (Nurazzi et al. 2022). In general, mechanical strength
Keywords: natural fiber; bamboo; polymer composites; is upgraded by enhancing the fiber content until a particular
mechanical properties; filler; water absorption point. However, composite strength starts to decline as fiber
content reaches a certain level (Tahir et al. 2022).
Schneider et al. (Karmaker and Shneider 1996) investi-
gated the mechanical performance of jute and kenaf com-
posites and concluded that jute fibers give higher strength to
the propylene than kenaf fibers. Srivastav et al. (2016)
examined the mechanical performance of a jute/glass hybrid
*Corresponding author: Danish Tahir, School of Fashion and Textiles, composite. According to their findings, the mechanical
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, P.R. China, characteristics of the composite are significantly influenced
E-mail: danish.tahir@connect.polyu.hk by the loading rate. A comparison between wood-based
Muhammad Ramzan Abdul Karim, Faculty of Materials and Chemical
composites and jute composites made by Munikenche
Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and
Technology, KPK, Pakistan
Gowda et al. (1999) showed better strength characteristics in
Hong Hu, School of Fashion and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic jute composites than in wood composites. Okubo et al. (2004)
University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, P.R. China inspected the strength of bamboo composites and their
Open Access. © 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
116 D. Tahir et al.: Hybrid composites of natural fibers and ceramic particles

dependence on fiber loading whereas Ismail et al. (Ismail size. The present research has aimed to study the mechani-
et al. 2002) investigated how bonding agents affected the cal, physical, and water absorption characteristics of a
bamboo composite’s mechanical response. The addition of hybrid composite reinforced with micron-size bamboo and
bonding agents improves the interfacial bond increasing silicon carbide in an Araldite (5052) epoxy matrix. The ob-
tensile strength (Nelson and Riddle 2022). tained results will further open new areas where bamboo/
The addition of filler in polymer composites can be done SiC epoxy composites can be used.
because of several reasons such as density control, improved
hardness, increase in strength, and enhancement in wear
resistance (Gupta 2022). Different kinds of fillers can be used 2 Experimental
e.g. silicon carbide (SiC), silica, charcoal, etc. Yamamoto et al.
(2003) investigated how silica addition affected the me- 2.1 Materials and methods
chanical characteristics of polymer composites. Further-
more, the shape and size of silica can also influence the The bamboo species Bambusa arundincenia was sourced from a local
market in Topi, Pakistan, whereas Nobel Trading Company in Pakistan
character of the composite. Patnaik et al. (2009) inspected the
supplied the Araldite epoxy (Molecular Weight: 392.9 g/mol) and hardener
change in the mechanical performance of the composite (Molecular Weight: 166.17 g/mol). SiC (200 mesh size) is used for preparing
with a change in filler content. Different filler contents have the hybrid composite and was bought from Sigma Aldrich, USA. To obtain
different effects on composite properties, depending on the the bamboo fibers (length ∼250 μm, diameter ∼25 μm), the bamboo strips
compatibility and interaction mechanisms between the filler were divided into tiny, 2 cm long, 1 cm wide pieces and grounded into
and the other reinforcement and matrix. The combination of small bamboo fibers of micrometer in size. Grounded fibers were then
subjected to sieve analysis (911MPELMS Sieving Machine) where fibers
silicon carbide and bamboo in an epoxy composite offers a
were separated based on their diameters. Fibers of some specific size are
multitude of application possibilities. It can be utilized in the then used for composite preparation. Composites with variable fiber (0,
construction of lightweight yet strong structural compo- 10, 20, and 30 wt%) and SiC (0, 2, 4, and 6 wt%) content were made by
nents for aerospace, automotive, and civil engineering pro- homogeneously mixing the reinforcement in an epoxy matrix using an
jects. The composite’s versatility extends to sporting goods, overhead stirrer. The epoxy and reinforcement mixture were stirred for
30 min followed by degassing of the mixture in a desiccator to remove the
marine applications, and the aerospace industry. Addition-
entrapped air. The uniformly stirred and degassed mixture was then cast
ally, it shows promise in renewable energy and consumer into a steel mold and left to cure for 24 h at room temperature. Figure 1
product sectors, highlighting its wide range of potential ap- shows the composite fabrication method. This study aims to improve the
plications (Hasan et al. 2023a). performance of bamboo composite by adding SiC as a filler, therefore,
Various studies have been published indicating the bamboo content inside the composite was first optimized followed by
importance of natural fibers and filler contents (Arockiam filler content optimization to further enhance the properties of the
composite. The addition of SiC changes the colour of the composite and
et al. 2022; Hariprasad et al. 2022; Mishra et al. 2022), but very
individual filler particles cannot be seen in the polymer composite.
less research has been done on fiber and filler size depen-
dence in bamboo fiber reinforced polymer composite. The
physical and mechanical properties of composites can be 2.2 Characterization
altered by changing the fiber and filler sizes. As a result,
rather than increasing the fiber content, the strength can be Tensile characteristics of bamboo composites and bamboo/SiC hybrid
boosted further by using the most suitable fiber and filler composites were investigated by using a 30 kN load on a tensile testing

Figure 1: Schematic showing the preparation

method of hybrid bamboo/SiC composites.
 D. Tahir et al.: Hybrid composites of natural fibers and ceramic particles 117

machine (INSTRON 5567-USA) by following the ASTM D3039 standard. A Table : Density values of bamboo composites.
sample size of 250 × 25 × 5 mm was used for testing. To understand the
failure mechanism of the fractured samples, a scanning electron mi- Reinforcement Theoretical density Experimental density
croscope (SEM) (Philips – XL 30 – The Netherlands) was used. Archi- (gm/cc) (gm/cc)
medes’ principle following the ASTM D792 standard was employed to
analyze the density of the composites.  wt% bamboo fibers . . ± .
The Charpy impact test was used to assess the composite’s capacity  wt% bamboo fibers . . ± .
 wt% bamboo fibers . . ± .
to absorb energy. Samples of size 125 × 12.7 × 10 mm were prepared
following the ASTM D6110-10 standard and were tested on a SHIMADZU  wt% bamboo fibers . . ± .
impact testing machine. Micro-hardness testing on composite materials
is done using a Leitz micro-hardness tester. Under the weight of 20 N, a
diamond indenter with a square base is pressed onto the sample. As the
composite contains bamboo reinforcement which has a hydrophilic
Table : Density values of hybrid composites.
character and can absorb water easily, water absorption resistance of
the composites was analyzed using ASTM D570-98 standard. Composite
samples were weighed and immersed in water for various durations Reinforcement Theoretical density Experimental density
(24–240 h). Samples were taken out and weighed again to evaluate the (gm/cc) (gm/cc)
water absorption behavior of the composite samples.  wt% bamboo . . ± .
fibers +  wt% SiC
 wt% bamboo . . ± .
fibers +  wt% SiC
3 Results and discussion  wt% bamboo . . ± .
fibers +  wt% SiC
 wt% bamboo . . ± .
3.1 Physical and tensile properties of
fibers +  wt% SiC
composites

Density measurements were performed through Archi-

medes’ principle to analyze the effect of SiC filler on com-
posites’ properties. The theoretical and experimental amount of filler. As a result, SiC compositions of 2, 4, and
density values of the composites are shown in Tables 1 and 2. 6 wt% are used for analysis. The mechanical properties of
Density measurements clearly show that the presence of the composites are significantly influenced by the amount
voids during the manufacturing of the composites led to of bamboo fiber present. The tensile strength and modulus
theoretical density values that were greater than experi- of the composites both rise with an increase in fiber content
mental density values. Due to insufficient adhesion between as shown in Figure 2. When an epoxy matrix is reinforced
the reinforcement and matrix, the void percentage rises with only 10 wt% of bamboo fibers, a slight increase in
with the fiber percentage. A rise in fiber content slightly tensile strength and modulus was observed which is due to
decreases the composite’s density whereas the filler addition low fiber content, but as the fiber content reaches 20 wt%
produces a prominent increase in density. A high density of the composite showed the highest values of strength and
the composites showed that fibers and filler are closely modulus. Better strength properties at 20 wt% are attrib-
packed and few spaces are present among the two compo- uted to the homogeneous distribution of fibers within the
nents whereas low-density composites have more spaces. matrix, which aids the stress mechanism between fibers
The composite reinforced with 30 % bamboo fibers has an and matrix. A noticeable decline in mechanical character-
excess of fibers and a low matrix content, resulting in void istics was seen as the fiber content was raised further, up to
formation since the matrix is insufficient to evenly distribute 30 wt%. This was due to the fibers’ poor dispersion within
the fibers. This causes a decrease in density at 30 wt% of fiber the matrix, which affected the stress transfer mechanism.
loading (Nanda and Satapathy 2017). A close-pack composite Poor dispersion is due to the high content of fibers, as the
structure may also enhance the mechanical characteristics matrix is not sufficient to cover up all the fibers thus dis-
of the composite. turbing the mechanical characteristics. High fiber content
Based on earlier research (Abdul Karim et al. 2020), the leads to poor dispersion and hence affects the mechanical
composite strength begins to decline as the fiber content strength negatively. Created defects such as voids act
increases from 20 to 30 wt%; thus, fiber loadings of 10, 20, as crack initiation sites leading to composite failure at a
and 30 wt% were chosen for examination. Because the fi- low-stress level.
bers are micrometers in size and have a large surface area, Reinforcing epoxy with 20 wt% bamboo fibers gives
the goal is to create high-strength composites with the least the highest strength to the composite, therefore, 20 wt%
118 D. Tahir et al.: Hybrid composites of natural fibers and ceramic particles

Figure 2: Tensile strength curves for (a) composites reinforced with different bamboo fiber content (b) 20 wt% bamboo composites reinforced with
variable filler loading.

was chosen to examine the impact of filler addition on tensile strength was also caused by the cross-linking that
mechanical characteristics. As seen in Table 2, SiC addition occurs between SiC and bamboo fibers. With a further in-
increases the density of the composite which means void crease of filler content to 6 wt% stress transmission and
content reduces composite. A decrease in void fraction cross-linking are affected leading to a decrement in tensile
enhances the mechanical strength of the composite. As strength. One of the reasons for the improvement in
discussed before, three percentages of SiC were chosen to strength is the good dispersion of filler throughout the
find the most suitable composition of a hybrid composite. bamboo fibers and matrix. 4 wt% SiC is sufficient to fill any
Figure 3 also displays the hybrid composites’ tensile gaps left by the addition of bamboo fibers (Biswas 2012; N
strength and modulus data. The highest value of strength 2018). The addition of filler to voids increases the strength
and modulus was obtained for a composite reinforced with of the hybrid material. In the case of a 6 % hybrid com-
4 wt% of SiC filler. High strength in filled composites is due posite, the filler is in excess, creating inadequate dispersion
to uniform transmittance of stress by the epoxy to other among the matrix and reinforcement, resulting in a loss in
reinforcements i.e. bamboo and SiC. Enhancement in strength.

Figure 3: Tensile modulus curves for (a) composites reinforced with different bamboo fiber content (b) 20 wt% bamboo composites reinforced with
variable filler loading.
 D. Tahir et al.: Hybrid composites of natural fibers and ceramic particles 119

The fractured surface of the 20 wt% of bamboo fibers composite turned into a brittle material as can be seen by the
composite and a composite reinforced with 20 wt% of bamboo presence of brittle zones on the fractured surface. The addi-
and of a 4 wt% of SiC were also observed in SEM. The analysis tion of filler also improves the interfacial bonding between
shows that the fractured surface of the composite reinforced the fibers and matrix, thus increasing the tensile strength.
with 20 wt% bamboo has a ductile appearance whereas the Ductile and brittle behavior can be further related to hard-
hybrid of bamboo and SiC showed brittle nature, as seen in ness, i.e. filler addition also increases the hardness of the
Figure 4. Figure 4 (a) demonstrates the reinforcement-matrix composites. It is vital to note that raising the SiC content above
interaction, fiber pull-out, and fiber breakage of the bamboo 4 % reduces mechanical strength due to void formation, as
fibers. At 20 wt% of bamboo fibers, good interfacial bonding seen in Figure 4 (c).
improves the strength attributes of the composites. Similarly, Figure 5 compares the prepared hybrid bamboo/SiC
in Figure 4 (b), a good interfacial bond between the fiber, SiC, composites to the literature and demonstrates a consider-
and matrix can be seen, resulting in bamboo fiber breakage able difference in tensile strength. Biswas (2012) examined
(Jawaid et al. 2022). The results indicated that epoxy in the the mechanical performance of bamboo short fiber epoxy
presence of bamboo had a ductile character which can be (LY 556) composites with a varied fiber content of 0, 5, 30, and
confirmed by the presence of pulled-out fibers on the frac- 45 wt%. Among all composites manufactured, 45 wt% com-
tured surface. Fiber pull-out implies a weak interfacial bond posites had the maximum tensile strength of 10.48 MPa. The
and causes crack deflection thus changing the crack direction hybrid composites are then prepared with SiC particles
and fiber debonding. Debonding of the fibers is caused by the measuring 80 μm in size using 45 wt% bamboo and 0, 5, 10,
matrix detachment from the fibers which leads to composite and 15 wt% of SiC. The hybrid composite with 10 wt%
failure (Hasan et al. 2023c). By ceramic filler addition, the SiC reinforcement had the maximum tensile strength of

Figure 4: SEM of composite reinforced with 20 wt% of bamboo fiber (a) 0 %, (b) 4 %, and (c) 6 % SiC.
120 D. Tahir et al.: Hybrid composites of natural fibers and ceramic particles

Figure 5: Comparison of tensile strength of

prepared hybrid composite with literature.

13.44 MPa. When the Biswas (2012) research is compared to composite. Composites reinforced with natural fibers are
the current research, it is clear that the size of the fiber and usually employed for structural applications. Therefore,
filler has a significant impact on the tensile strength of the impact energy characteristics are of significant concern
composite, i.e. employing bamboo (250 μm long and 25 μm in (Kumar et al. 2022). Impact energy or fracture toughness
diameter) and 200 mesh size SiC in Araldite (5052) epoxy can depends strongly on reinforcement content and interfacial
significantly boost the strength of the composite. bonding. Figure 6 shows the impact energy absorption
ability of bamboo and its hybrid composites. The impact
strength of the composite improves as the bamboo fiber
3.2 Energy absorption and hardness of percentage increases. In bamboo composites, impact
composites strength can be affected by crack bridging, friction between
the matrix and reinforcement, and wetting characteristics of
The impact energy of the composite is related to its ability to the two components. For short fiber composites, pull-out
resist fracture when high-speed stress is applied whereas fibers during fracture also help in high energy absorption.
impact properties indicate the overall toughness of the Fiber pull-out is more prominent in composites with weak

Figure 6: Impact energy absorption curves for (a) composites reinforced with different bamboo fiber content (b) 20 wt% bamboo composites reinforced
with variable filler loading.
 D. Tahir et al.: Hybrid composites of natural fibers and ceramic particles 121

interfacial bonds. That is why the composite reinforced 2009). Figure 8 shows the water absorption of the prepared
with bamboo has absorbed more energy than the hybrid composites and its dependence on bamboo fiber content and
composite reinforced with bamboo and SiC (Dassios 2007). filler loading. Bamboo fiber is cellulosic with hydroxyl
SiC in the hybrid composite holds the fibers tightly and re- groups (Hasan et al. 2023b; Judawisastra et al. 2017). Hy-
stricts fiber pull-out resulting in low energy absorption droxyl groups make the fibers hydrophilic having the ability
(Wang et al. 2015). A reverse trend was observed in the to absorb water resulting in a weight increase. Regarding
hybrid composite where increased filler loading decreases this fact, cellulosic content in a composite plays a vital role in
the impact strength. Reduction in impact properties at high water absorption and a composite with higher content of
filler content may also be due to micro spaces created during cellulosic fibers absorbs more water than a composite with
composite manufacturing that act as crack initiation sites. less fiber content. The curves also indicate that the per-
Figure 7 shows the relationship between hardness and centage of water absorbed is rapid in the initial stages and
reinforcement content in the composites. As the epoxy becomes constant after a certain interval. This is known as
polymer is much softer than the bamboo fibers and SiC, an the saturation point, and no additional rise in water ab-
increase in reinforcement loading will enhance the hardness sorption was recorded after this threshold.
of the composite (Chidhananda et al. 2021). In bamboo SiC addition affects the water absorption properties
composites, an increase in fiber loading significantly in- significantly. Obtained results showed that filler addition in-
creases the hardness because of the higher hardness of creases the composite’s resistance toward water absorption
bamboo fibers than epoxy. That’s why the composite with a and with an increase in filler loading water absorption de-
higher content of bamboo showed a high hardness value creases. The addition of SiC to the 20 % bamboo composite
(Webo et al. 2018). Similarly, for the hybrid composite, increases the composite’s resistance to water absorption. This
enhancement in hardness is linked with the increase of filler decrease could be attributed to the fact that the used SiC
content. The hardness of SiC is much higher than that of particles are hydrophobic in nature (Socha et al. 2002). In
bamboo and epoxy, which is why filler addition further in- addition, the gaps that exist in unfilled composites that
creases the hardness of the composite. When evaluating the contribute to moisture gain are filled with filler particles,
wear characteristics of the composite, the hardness of the resulting in a reduction in moisture absorption in hybrid
composite plays a vital role. composites. Less water absorption is associated with the high
density of the hybrid composite, i.e. a composite with less void
content has a higher density, whereas a composite with a
3.3 Water absorption characteristics of large number of voids has a lower density (Hariyadi and
composites Tamai 2015). Therefore, SiC filler is a suitable candidate for
increasing the barrier properties of the bamboo composite.
The properties of the natural fiber composites are negatively Filler addition creates tortuous pathways resulting in less
impacted by water absorption. It not only affects the water absorption (Thwe and Liao 2002). As discussed earlier,
dimensional stability of the composites but also changes SiC also helps in making a strong interfacial bond between the
their mechanical characteristics (Kushwaha and Kumar fibers and matrix, therefore, strong bonding also resists the

Figure 7: Hardness curves for (a) composites reinforced with different bamboo fiber content (b) 20 wt% bamboo composites reinforced with variable
filler loading.
122 D. Tahir et al.: Hybrid composites of natural fibers and ceramic particles

Figure 8: Water absorption curves for (a) composites reinforced with different bamboo fiber content (b) 20 wt% bamboo composites reinforced with
variable filler loading.

movement of water molecules toward the fibers (Espert et al. surface revealed different fracture types, including ductile
2004). The hybrid composite reinforced with 20 wt% bamboo and brittle fractures, along with various defects. Impact
and 6 wt% SiC showed the lowest water absorption. energy absorption test results indicated a decrease of 4.95 %
As mentioned earlier, water absorption in natural fiber in energy absorption with filler addition, while the hardness
composites occurs when water penetrates the interface, test showed an increase of 25 % when 4 wt% of SiC was
saturating the natural fibers and filling the pores, resulting added. Furthermore, the water absorption resistance of the
in fiber swelling. However, only fibers with a weakened composite was negatively affected by the addition of fillers,
interface are susceptible to swelling. Although there is a with higher filler content leading to increased resistance to
chance that swelling might increase the thickness of the water absorption.
sample, the presence of SiC in the composite enhances its
hardness. The exceptional hardness and strength of the
composite effectively restrict overall swelling. The compos- Acknowledgments: The authors acknowledge Pakistan Sci-
ite with SiC reinforcement has a reduced susceptibility to ence Foundation for funding this work via Project No. PSF/
water absorption and swelling compared to natural fiber Res/KPK-GIKI/Eng. (170). GIK Institute is also acknowledged
composites without SiC. Hence, the absence of significant for providing basic synthesis and characterization facilities.
swelling was noted. Research ethics: All research have been conducted in
adherence with the highest international and local standards
of rigor and integrity.
4 Conclusions Author contributions: Conceptualization: Danish Tahir,
Muhammad Ramzan Abdul karim; Investigation: Danish
To analyse the physical and mechanical characteristics, we Tahir, Hong Hu; Data curation: Danish Tahir, Hong Hu,
prepared micron-size bamboo-reinforced epoxy composites Muhammad Ramzan Abdul Karim; Writing: Danish Tahir,
and hybrid composites of bamboo and SiC. Density mea- Muhammad Ramzan Abdul Karim, Hong Hu. The authors
surements revealed that adding 4 wt% of SiC to 20 wt% of have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this
the bamboo composite increased the density from 1.15 to manuscript and approved its submission.
1.28 gm/cc. The tensile characteristics of the composites Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of
exhibited a significant improvement with increasing fiber interest.
loading and filler quantity up to a specific limit. With the Research funding: Work funded by Pakistan Science
addition of 4 wt% of SiC to 20 wt% bamboo composites, there Foundation under Project No. PSF/Res/KPK-GIKI/Eng. (170)
was an observed increase of 13.8 and 20 % in tensile strength and GIK Institute’s Graduate Assistantship Scheme (GA-1).
and modulus, respectively. SEM analysis of the fractured Data availability: Not applicable.
 D. Tahir et al.: Hybrid composites of natural fibers and ceramic particles 123

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