Experimental investigation on morphological, physical and shear properties of hybrid composite laminates reinforced with flax and carbon fibers

Abstract

In recent years, the development of natural and synthetic fibers reinforced hybrid composites is one of the high attractive research fields. These composites are one of the major concerns for many industrial applications due to weight reduction and ecological reasons. In this experimental study, partially eco-friendly hybrid composites were fabricated by using carbon and flax fibers with epoxy resin. The composites were fabricated by hand lay-up process and the properties such as inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis, hardness, wear behavior and weight gain characteristics have been carried out. The internal structures of the fractured surfaces of the tested composites were analyzed using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. From the experimental results, it is observed that the average weight loss is 17.98%, ILSS varies between 3.96 and 4.9 MPa and hardness is in the range of 62.33–77.66 (HRC). The results further revealed that the percentage of water intake of the flax fiber is 92%, carbon fiber is 36.6% and these fibers reinforced composite is 61.9%. From the results, it is concluded that the above said properties are comparable with pure carbon fiber reinforced composites, which shows the potential for hybridization of flax fiber with carbon fiber.

Keywords:

• Hybrid composites
• wear properties
• hardness
• spectroscopy
• weight gain
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Acknowledgments

The authors are very much grateful to their management for their support and facilities provided to carry out the experiment. The authors would like to thank Dr. S. Nithya, KIT-Kalaignarkarunanidhi Institute of Technology for her support in proofreading of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.