Present day innovation requires materials with a typical combination of properties that are not possible by conventional metal, alloys, ceramics and polymeric materials.Particulate reinforcements for polymers are selected with the dual objective of improving composite properties and save on the total cost of the system. The point of this study is to utilize and compare the mechanical properties of filler (fly ash and silica fumes) reinforced epoxy composites. The composites of different proportions by percentage of matrix(100%), fillers(5%,10% and 15%) volume are developed using hand lay-up process are tested for tensile and compression, according to ASTM Standards. From these mechanical properties, the flexural analysis of these composites is simulated. And which are characterized by Scanning electron microscopy for the fracture surface study, which reveals the brittle fracture, this also conforms from the Finite element analysis(FEA). And the overall mechanical properties of the fly ash reinforced polymer composites were found to have better than silica fumes reinforced composites.

Impact analysis of the composite structure is essential for many fields like automotive, aerospace and naval structure which practically difficult to characterize. In the present study impact analysis of carbon-epoxy (CE) and jute-epoxy (JE) laminates were studied for three different thicknesses. The 3D finite element model was adopted to study the impact forces experienced, energy absorption and fracture behavior of the laminated composites. These laminated composites modeled as a 3D deformable solid element and an impactor at a constant velocity were modeled as a discrete rigid element. The energy absorption and fracture behaviors for various material combinations and thickness were studied. The fracture behavior of these composite showed progressive damage with matrix failure at the initial stage followed by complete fiber breakage.

The present work investigated the effect of chemical treatment on the mechanical properties of plain-woven banana fabrics reinforced with a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) biodegradable matrix. Woven banana fabrics were chemically treated with different concentrations (0·5, 1·0, 2·0, 3·0 and 4·0%) for 4 h at room temperature. The banana fabrics and PVA were used in ratios of 55 and 45% weight fractions, respectively. Composites were prepared using the hand-layup method. The samples were tested according to different ASTM standards for tensile, flexural and impact strength. The results showed that tensile, flexural and impact properties improved with potassium permanganate (KMnO₄) treatment. The fabrics treated with 1·0% potassium permanganate showed very good mechanical properties compared with the untreated fabrics and the 0·5, 2·0, 3·0 and 4·0% treated fabrics. The 1% treated fabric composite showed a 68·07% increase in tensile strength compared with the untreated fabric composite. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the 1% treated fabric had better interfacial bonding between the fabric and matrix. This contributes to improvement in the mechanical properties of the composite.