<![CDATA[This study aims to investigate the effect of fabrication methods on the tensile strength of epoxy composites reinforced with untreated Cordyline australis fibers. Two fabrication methods were compared: closed hand lay-up and vacuum chamber. The fiber weight fractions used were 1%, 2%, and 5%. Tensile tests were conducted according to ASTM D638, and morphological characteristics were examined through surface and fracture micrograph analysis. The results show that the hand lay-up method consistently produced higher tensile strength compared to the vacuum method across all fiber fractions. The highest tensile strength was achieved at 2% fiber fraction using the hand lay-up method, reaching 26.91 MPa, while the vacuum method only reached 21.11 MPa. At 5% fiber content, the vacuum method experienced a significant drop in tensile strength to 12.34 MPa, indicating its ineffectiveness at higher fiber loadings without treatment. Micrographic analysis revealed that the vacuum method tended to produce voids and resin-poor areas around the fibers. These findings confirm that fabrication method has a significant influence on the mechanical performance of the composite, and that the hand lay-up method is more suitable for natural fiber-based composites without additional treatments.]]>
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