Synergy of Interlaminar Glass Fiber Hybridization on Mechanical and Dynamic Characteristics of Jute and Flax Fabric Reinforced Epoxy Composites

ABSTRACT

Natural fiber composites (NFC) exhibit good specific mechanical properties in comparison to synthetic fiber composites (SFC). The study investigates interlaminar glass (G) fiber hybridized jute (J) and flax (F) reinforced epoxy composites designated as JGGJ, GJJG, FGGF, and GFFG along with their virgin counterparts. Composite laminates of four plies are manufactured by hand-layup followed by compression molding to investigate tensile, flexural, and interlaminar shear properties. Further the effect of hybridization is also investigated for modal frequencies and damping ratio obtained from experimental modal analysis. Glass fiber hybridization as extreme layers shows significant improvement in flexural and shear properties as compared to tensile. Glass fiber reinforcement, as core layers improve the damping by 155.55% and 101.31% for JGGJ and FGGF, respectively, over pure glass epoxy. However with increase in bending stiffness of GJJG and GFFG, the bending modal frequency is improved. Also, the modal frequency and damping ratio increases following a power-law variation with a decrease in the free length. Finite element and analytical validations are presented to the experimental frequencies and flexural modulus, respectively. These studied hybrid composites can serve as semi-structural members like interior trim panels in automotive applications that possess significant strength and dissipate in-service vibrations effectively.

摘要

与合成纤维复合材料（SFC）相比，天然纤维复合材料（NFC）具有良好的特殊力学性能. 研究了玻璃（G）纤维混杂黄麻（J）和亚麻（F）增强环氧树脂复合材料，分别命名为JGGJ、GJJG、FGGF和GFFG及其原始材料. 为了研究复合材料层合板的拉伸、弯曲和层间剪切性能，采用手工叠层和压塑成型的方法制备了四层复合材料层合板. 此外，还研究了杂交效应对实验模态分析得到的模态频率和阻尼比的影响. 与拉伸相比，玻璃纤维混杂层在弯曲和剪切性能方面有显著改善. 作为芯层的玻璃纤维增强体，JGGJ和FGGF的阻尼比纯玻璃环氧树脂提高了155.55%和101.31%. 但随着GJJG和GFFG弯曲刚度的增加，弯曲模态频率有所提高. 随着自由长度的减小，模态频率和阻尼比随幂律变化而增大. 对试验频率和弯曲模量分别进行了有限元和解析验证. 这些研究的混杂复合材料可以作为半结构构件，如汽车内饰板，具有显著的强度和有效地消散在役振动.

KEYWORDS:

• Jute
• flax
• glass
• tensile
• bending
• modal frequency
• damping

关键词:

• 黄麻
• 亚麻
• 玻璃
• 张力的
• 弯曲
• 模态频率
• 阻尼

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology, for providing necessary laboratory support.