An Experimental Study on the Low-Velocity Impact Behavior of Biopolymer-Coated Kenaf Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Nanocomposites: A Route to Sustainability

Today, the utilization of natural fiber–reinforced composites for automotive and aircraft components has enlarged. Reports have specified that automotive industries are using kenaf, hemp, and sisal fiber–reinforced composites in dashboards, door panels, and front bumpers parts of automobiles. So the mechanical properties of these composites, such as tensile, flexural, and impact, need to be improved. In this aspect, alkali treatment and the addition of nanofillers are the two techniques that researchers generally carry out. This research article aims to experimentally analyze the low-velocity impact behavior of biopolymer-coated kenaf fiber nanocomposites. Hence, in this research work, the kenaf fiber mats were initially chemically treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and coated using polylactic acid (PLA). Finally, these alkali-treated biopolymer-coated kenaf fiber mats are reinforced with various percentages of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), copper oxide (CuO), and graphene (Gr) nanofillers and fabricated via hand layup technique followed by compression molding. Then, these biopolymer-coated kenaf nanocomposite samples were tested for a low-velocity impact study. The surface topography of the impacted samples was tested with a high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Based on the test results, the sample with 0.9 wt.% of nanofillers has achieved excellent low-velocity impact resistance compared to other samples. Finally, best-impact behavior samples were used for finite elemental analysis (FEA) using ANSYS software to validate experimental results. From the outcomes of the research article, the biopolymer-coated kenaf nanocomposites act as a sustainable biocomposite suitable for structural applications in the automotive and aerospace industries.