This study investigates the development of sustainable hybrid epoxy composites reinforced with pineapple leaf fiber (PALF), kenaf fiber (KF), and porcelain ceramic powder (PCP) as a particulate filler for lightweight structural applications. The composites were fabricated using the hand lay-up technique followed by compression molding, maintaining a constant hybrid fiber composition of 75 g PALF and 75 g kenaf, while varying the PCP loading from 0 to 10 wt.%. The extracted fibers were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to evaluate their structural and morphological properties. Mechanical characterization revealed that the incorporation of PCP significantly influenced the composite performance. The composite containing 4 wt.% PCP exhibited the optimum tensile strength of 32.4 MPa, flexural strength of 48.2 MPa, flexural modulus of 3.55 GPa, and impact strength of 6.1 kJ/m 2 , indicating effective stress transfer and improved interfacial bonding between the matrix and reinforcements. Hardness increased progressively with filler loading and reached a maximum value of 91 HRB at 10 wt.% PCP due to the rigid ceramic particle contribution. Water absorption behavior decreased with increasing filler concentration owing to enhanced matrix densification and reduced pore pathways. The findings demonstrate that moderate PCP incorporation improves the overall mechanical performance of PALF/KF hybrid epoxy composites and highlights their potential for sustainable non-structural engineering applications, particularly in automotive interior and lightweight panel components.
K et al. (Fri,) studied this question.