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Preparation and mechanical characterization of flax and glass fiber reinforced polyester hybrid composite laminate by hand lay-up method
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ScienceDirect Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 26934–26940
www.materialstoday.com/proceedings
ICAMM_2016
Preparation and mechanical characterization of flax and glass fiber reinforced polyester hybrid composite laminate by hand lay-up method C.M.Meenakshi a* A.Krishnamoorthyb a,b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract Composites are the leading materials used in industries like aerospace, shipbuilding, automobile and also in the field of renewable energy in wind turbine blade manufacturing. Amongst that fiber reinforced composites gains more importance due to its high strength and stiffness value, most of the fiber reinforced composites incorporate glass fiber as reinforcement which is a high density material and causing many environmental problems in disposal after end use. This diverts the attention of researchers towards natural fiber as a reinforcing material for structural applications which is already a highly used member in many non-structural applications. The objective of this work is hybridization of natural fiber and synthetic fiber, the natural fiber used is flax and the synthetic fiber is glass fiber along with polyester resin. The laminates are prepared with different volume of flax and glass fiber and their mechanical properties like tensile strength, impact strength, flexural strength and water absorption nature are tested. The tests are carried out on standard ASTM sized samples the results show that the hybrid composite is showing equally good performance to conventional glass fiber composite and overall better performance than the mono natural Fiber composite. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of ICAMM-2016. Keywords: polyester resin ;glass fiber;flax fiber;hhybridization;Mechanical Properties.
1. Introduction Composite materials are growing as a promising replacement of conventional metal in structural applications like aerospace, automobile and wind turbine blade manufacturing industry. Among the composites, polymer matrix composites are gaining more importance due to be less weight, high stiffness and other advantages,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 919500015643. E-mail address: [email protected] 2214-7853 © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of ICAMM-2016.
C.M.Meenakshi / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 26934–26940
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Nomenclature GFRP HFRP NFRP
Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Polyester Natural Fiber Reinforced Polyester
in today’s scenario most of the polymer matrix composites are made up of glass fiber reinforcement which is synthetic and creating problems in the disposal after end of life. Due to the continuous increase in awareness regarding biodegradability and government involvement in environmental safety, researcher’s attention turned towards biodegradable materials in structural application [1]. Natural fiber reinforced composite is one such material which is undergoing sever analysis for its applicability in structural and engineering field. There are many types of natural fibers depending on its source, Asia is the largest resource of cellulose fibers like bamboo, hemp, flax sisal, banana etc. [2] Asian researchers are showing interest in cellulose fiber reinforced plastics. The advantage of this fiber as reinforcement is their low density, which is an important factor of consideration in the automobile and aerospace industry. A Lot of research work is ongoing in this regards, Maries Idicula Kuruvilla Joseph, Sabu Thomas [2] found that banana/sisal hybrid fiber reinforced polyester composites results in a positive hybrid effect in tensile and flexural properties. Darshill U. Shah, Peter J. Schubel, Mike Clifford [3] has proved that flax is a suitable structural replacement for E-glass for small wind turbine blade applications. Chennabasappa Hampali, Chandrasekhar Bendigeri [4] concludes that the polymer composite material with long hemp fiber can be used as an alternative material in the biomedical applications. Mohini Saxena [5] based on many reviews is saying that plant fibers are better replacement for synthetic fiber in terms of cost, density, renewability and co2 emission. Kestur G.Satyanarayana [6] is saying research and development of biodegradable composites will lead to use of suitable local materials with possible local manufacturing of products through local technological capabilities meeting not only local but global demand. C. W. Nguong, S. N. B. Lee, and D. Sujan [7] found that Nano materials such as Nano Silica Carbide (n-SiC) and Nano Clay can be added into the natural fiber reinforced polymer composite to overcome the water absorption problem. B. Vijaya Ramanathan [8] found that the banana and jute Hybrid composite is showing a good performance and M. Ramesh, K. Palanikumar, K. Hemachandra Reddy [9] found out that sisal /Glass fiber composite is performing well with tensile load. With all this background this research is focused on flax fiber from the family of jute one of the oldest type of fiber [7] along with glass fiber and polyester resin, laminates are prepared and their tensile strength, impact strength, flexural and water absorption properties are found out and compared. 2. Materials and Preparation of Composite Laminates This paper will explain about the preparation of composite laminates and the experimental procedures for their mechanical characterization. The raw materials used in this work are 1. Glass fiber 2. Flax fiber 3. Polyester resin 2.1. Fibers Glass fiber is a one commonly used reinforcing material in fiber reinforced polymer composites as it is very cheaper and less brittle. The glass fibers are in different forms like chopped strands, mats and woven fabrics. The bidirectional woven glass fiber mats are used in this work. The flax fiber belongs to the family of jute fiber having high tensile strength compared to Jute fiber bidirectional woven flax fiber mat of size 30 x 30 cm is used in this work. The properties of the fibers are given in Table 1. Table 1. Properties of Fiber
S.No 1. 2.
Material Glass fiber Flax fiber
Density 2.54g/cm3 1.45g/cm3
Tensile Strength 3450 Mpa 800 to 1500 Mpa
Elastic Modulus 72 Gpa 60 to 80 Gpa
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2.2. Resin The resin used is a general purpose polyester resin which will be used for molding purpose. The polyester resin is selected as it is one of the very common resins used in many of the structural applications, especially in wind turbine blade manufacturing. Polyester is one of the most dominant resins used for small to big wind turbine blade through hand lay method and resin transfer molding depend on the size of the blade. The properties of the resin are given in Table 2. Table 2. Properties of polyester Resin
Name
Density
Viscosity
Tensile strength
Flexural strength
Polyester resin
1.11-1.12 g/cm3
300-400 cps
45N/mm2
110 N/mm2
2.3. Fabrication of Composites Three different types of composite laminates are prepared with different glass and natural fiber weight percentage using the following raw materials. 1. Polyester resin. 2. Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide as catalyst. 3. Cobalt as Accelerator. 4. Glass fiber mat. 5. Flax fiber mat. The laminates are prepared using hand lay-up method as it is simpler and less costly. Initially, the E-glass and flax fiber mats and are cut into 300x300mm sizes, polyester resin and Hardener are mixed in the ratio of 10:1.The laminates prepared have three layers of fibers filled in between polyester resin. The voids produced while preparing the laminates are squeezed out using a roller. Three types of composite laminates prepared as shown in Table 3. Highest care has been given to produce a uniform and homogeneous composite laminate of 300x300 x3 mm. The fabricated specimens are shown in Fig: 1
Fig 1. GFRP, HFRP, NFRP Table 3. Type of Composite Laminate
S. No
Composite Name
Composite Type
1
C1
Glass Fiber Reinforced polyester
2.
C2
Glass and Natural Fiber Reinforced Polyester(Hybrid)
3.
C3
Natural fiber Reinforced Polyester
Layer 1
Layer 2
Layer 3
Glass Fiber Mat Glass Fiber Mat Natural Fiber
Glass Fiber Mat
Glass Fiber Mat
Natural Fiber
Glass Fiber Mat
Natural Fiber
Natural Fiber
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3. Testing Procedure Composite laminates prepared are cut into smaller samples of ASTM standards, for various test procedure and the sized specimens are shown in the forthcoming figures. 3.1. Tensile Test: Samples are cut into the size of (165x25x3) mm in accordance with ASTM standards D-638.The tensile test was carried out on a Universal testing machine with maximum capacity 600 KN of FIE Pvt Ltd at room temperature. The test was carried out in such a way to find out the ultimate tensile strength and elongation at the peak load, the results are analyzed and tensile strength is calculated. The test setup and samples before and after test is presented in Fig: 2
Fig 2. (a)Tensile Testing in UTM; (b) Test specimens
3.2. Flexural Test: Samples are cut into flat shape (125x13x3) mm, in accordance with ASTM standards D-790. The flexural test was carried out in a UTM. The test was carried out in such a way to find out the material’s ability to resist deformation under loading. The results are correlated and flexural strength of the materials is identified. Testing method and samples before and after test is shown in Fig: 3
Fig. 3. (a) Flexural Testing; (b) Test specimens
3.3. Impact Test: Impact energy is the energy that the specimen absorbs once a sudden load is applied. Izod impact testing is an ASTM standard method of determining the impact resistance of materials Sample was cut into flat shape (65x13x3) mm, confirming with ASTM standards D4812. A pendulum from a particular height is released which strike the specimen and breaks it. From the amount of energy absorbed by the specimen, its impact energy can be found out. Samples before and after test is shown in Fig: 4
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Fig. 4. Impact Test Specimens
3.4. Water Absorption Test: The water absorption test is one of the important tests for natural fiber reinforced composite concern as the natural fiber tends to observe moisture, which has to be carefully noted when it is going to be used in structures which will be exposed to moisture. The Sample was cut into flat shape (30x30x3) mm. They were oven dried and specimens were weighted accurately using weighing balance of 0.1mg accuracy. Then the specimens are immense in distilled water and weight measured after 24, 48 and 72 hours by taking out the specimen and drying it. Using the two readings the water absorption percentage was calculated as per the formula 100 where w1 is the weight of the sample after taken out of distilled water and w0 is the initial weight of the sample. The test setup and samples before and after test is presented in Fig: 5
Fig. 5. (a) water Absorption Test setup; (b) Test Specimens
4. Result and Discussion The GFRP, HFRP, NFRP composite laminates prepared are subjected to mechanical characterization and its properties are observed and compared in Table 4, it brings out a clear picture that even though the GFRP is good in all aspects HFRP is equally good in tensile, impact strength and also it is worth to note that samples of HFRP take for the water absorption test is surprisingly weigh less even than the NFRP samples. NFRP is also showing a promising trend that if appropriate property enhancement treatments are given to the natural fibers definitely it will perform equally well to the HFRP. Table 4. Overall Mechanical Performance of Different Composite Laminate
S.NO
1 2 3
Composite type
Tensile strength (N/mm2)
Flexural strength (N/mm2)
Impact strength (J/m)
GFRP HFRP NFRP
92.57 83.753 44.68
125.54 83.75 61.49
16.33 14.33 12
Avg. Weight of water absorption test samples (gm) 3.68 3.46 3.54
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4.1. Tensile Test: The tensile test result shows that Sample 1 of hybrid composite is showing a lesser value of 57.83N/mm2 whereas the sample 2 and 3 are showing a good value of 72.23 and 70.21 N/mm2 as tensile strength. And it's also noted that sample 1 of natural fiber reinforced composite is also showing positive result of 65.85 N/mm2.The comparison of the tensile strengths of the different composites are shown in Fig 6. From the tensile test it is found that the breaking loads of the hybrid composite samples 1, 2 and 3 are 2.28KN, 2.37KN and 2.82 KN respectively whereas the same for the natural Fiber composite is 2.85KN, 1.41KN and 1.62 KN respectively. Even though the sample 1 of NFRP is showing good performance the value of breaking load of other two samples are very less. On the other hand the ultimate load value of hybrid composite is a little lesser than the glass Fiber composite. 4.2. Flexural Test The flexural test result shows that the flexural strength of hybrid composite is in the range of 80-90N/mm2, sample 3 is having higher value than the other samples and also sample 1 of natural fiber composite is showing almost good performance. And all the samples of HFRP and NFRP reinforced composite are showing positive result which is shown in Fig: 6. 4.3. Impact Test The impact test result shows that the hybrid composite as well as natural fiber composite is showing almost good performance as similar as glass fiber reinforced composite and all the samples of HFRP and NFRP reinforced composite are showing positive results. Especially the HFRP is having almost same impact energy as of GFRP in the range of 11 to 14 J/m. It is understood that HFRP and NFRP are having an equally good impact resistance as GFRP. The result trend is shown in Fig: 6 4.4. Water Absorption Test The water absorption test result shows that the water absorption of HFRP very less as compare to Natural fiber composite and it is slightly higher than the Glass fiber reinforced composite. The trend of water absorption in all the three composites is shown in Table 5. There is a steady increase in the percentage of water absorption in all the three composite with time and it is found that hybrid composite can be used in structures which will have limited exposure to moisture. But it is important to discuss here that many researchers have proven that chemical treatment like alkaline dipping of fiber will improve the behaviour of natural fibers [10]. The comparisons between the water absorption behaviour of different samples are given in Fig: 6. Table 5. Trend of Water Absorption Percentage
Composite type GFRP HFRP NFRP
Time duration
Sample 1 water absorption %
24 hrs 48 hrs 72 hrs 24 hrs 48 hrs 72 hrs 24 hrs 48 hrs 72 hrs
0.15 0.51 0.64 0.61 0.86 1.1 1.4 2.2 2.7
Sample 2 water absorption % 0.16 0.32 0.43 0.83 0.90 1.2 1.5 2.4 2.8
Sample 3 water absorption % 0.20 0.34 0.43 0.64 0.90 1.09 1.39 2.1 2.8
Sample 4 water absorption % 0.21 0.29 0.40 0.56 0.88 1.00 1.4 2.1 2.7
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Fig: 6 Comparisons of various Test Results
5. Conclusion This research work was carried out to find out the mechanical and water absorbing behavior of the glass, natural and hybrid fiber reinforced polyester composite and the following conclusions are made. This work shows that successful fabrication of flax and glass fiber reinforced polyester hybrid composites and natural fiber composite is possible by simple hand lay-up technique. It has been noticed that the mechanical properties of the composites such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength and water absorption rate of the composites are greatly influenced by the type of fiber. Hybrid composites are showing promisingly good performance almost in the same range of glass fiber reinforced composite in tensile and impact strength and also less in weight. As the natural fiber reinforced composite is also showing comparatively good results its performance can further increase by property enhancement treatments. From the above observations, it is understood that hybrid composite can act as an immediate replacement for glass fiber composites and natural fibers needs further research to improve its performance as reinforcement in composites. 6. Reference [1] Omar Faruk “Bio composites reinforced with Natural fiber: 2000-2010” progress in polymer science 37 (2012) 1552-1596. [2] Maries Idicula Kuruvilla Joseph, Sabu Thomas,” Mechanical Performance of Short Banana/Sisal Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Polyester composite, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 2010 29: 12 originally published online 24 April 2009, DOI: 10.1177/0731684408095033 . [3] Darshill U. Shah, Peter J. Schubel, Mike Clifford “Can Flax Replace E-Glass in structural composites? A small wind turbine blade case study: Composite part b 52 (2013) 172-181. [4] Chennabasappa Hampali, Chandrashekhar Bendigeri,” Investigation of mechanical properties of polyester reinforced with hemp fiber (long fibers and mat) for patellar implant application”, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET) Volume 7, Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2016, pp. 154-163, ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359, IAEME Publication. [5] Mohini Saxena et al “Composite materials from natural resource: recent trends and future potentials.” Advance in composite materials www.intechopen.com – Analysis and man-made materials 09, September, 2011 [6]. Kestur G.Satyanarayana et al,”Biodegradable composites based on lingo cellousic fibers- an overview” progress in polymer science 34(2009) 982-1021. [7] C. W. Nguong, S. N. B. Lee, and D. Sujan A Review on Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Chemical, Nuclear, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Vol:7, No:1, 2013 [8] B. Vijaya Ramanathan et al,”Experimental Determination of Mechanical Properties of Banana Jute Hybrid composite” Fiber and Polymers 2015, Vol 16, NOI 164-172 DOI 10,1007/s1221-015-0164-0. [9] M. Ramesh, *, K. Palanikumar, K. Hemachandra Reddy,” Comparative Evaluation of Properties of Hybrid Glass Fiber- Sisal/Jute Reinforced Epoxy Composites”, Procedia Engineering 51 (2013) 745 – 750. [10]. Ajith Gopinath, Senthil Kumar.M, Elayaperumal. A “Experimental Investigations on Mechanical PropertiesOf Jute Fiber Reinforced Composites with Polyesterand Epoxy Resin Matrices”, Procedia Engineering 97 ( 2014 ) 2052 – 2063
ScienceDirect Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 26934–26940
www.materialstoday.com/proceedings
ICAMM_2016
Preparation and mechanical characterization of flax and glass fiber reinforced polyester hybrid composite laminate by hand lay-up method C.M.Meenakshi a* A.Krishnamoorthyb a,b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract Composites are the leading materials used in industries like aerospace, shipbuilding, automobile and also in the field of renewable energy in wind turbine blade manufacturing. Amongst that fiber reinforced composites gains more importance due to its high strength and stiffness value, most of the fiber reinforced composites incorporate glass fiber as reinforcement which is a high density material and causing many environmental problems in disposal after end use. This diverts the attention of researchers towards natural fiber as a reinforcing material for structural applications which is already a highly used member in many non-structural applications. The objective of this work is hybridization of natural fiber and synthetic fiber, the natural fiber used is flax and the synthetic fiber is glass fiber along with polyester resin. The laminates are prepared with different volume of flax and glass fiber and their mechanical properties like tensile strength, impact strength, flexural strength and water absorption nature are tested. The tests are carried out on standard ASTM sized samples the results show that the hybrid composite is showing equally good performance to conventional glass fiber composite and overall better performance than the mono natural Fiber composite. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of ICAMM-2016. Keywords: polyester resin ;glass fiber;flax fiber;hhybridization;Mechanical Properties.
1. Introduction Composite materials are growing as a promising replacement of conventional metal in structural applications like aerospace, automobile and wind turbine blade manufacturing industry. Among the composites, polymer matrix composites are gaining more importance due to be less weight, high stiffness and other advantages,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 919500015643. E-mail address: [email protected] 2214-7853 © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of ICAMM-2016.
C.M.Meenakshi / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 26934–26940
26935
Nomenclature GFRP HFRP NFRP
Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyester Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Polyester Natural Fiber Reinforced Polyester
in today’s scenario most of the polymer matrix composites are made up of glass fiber reinforcement which is synthetic and creating problems in the disposal after end of life. Due to the continuous increase in awareness regarding biodegradability and government involvement in environmental safety, researcher’s attention turned towards biodegradable materials in structural application [1]. Natural fiber reinforced composite is one such material which is undergoing sever analysis for its applicability in structural and engineering field. There are many types of natural fibers depending on its source, Asia is the largest resource of cellulose fibers like bamboo, hemp, flax sisal, banana etc. [2] Asian researchers are showing interest in cellulose fiber reinforced plastics. The advantage of this fiber as reinforcement is their low density, which is an important factor of consideration in the automobile and aerospace industry. A Lot of research work is ongoing in this regards, Maries Idicula Kuruvilla Joseph, Sabu Thomas [2] found that banana/sisal hybrid fiber reinforced polyester composites results in a positive hybrid effect in tensile and flexural properties. Darshill U. Shah, Peter J. Schubel, Mike Clifford [3] has proved that flax is a suitable structural replacement for E-glass for small wind turbine blade applications. Chennabasappa Hampali, Chandrasekhar Bendigeri [4] concludes that the polymer composite material with long hemp fiber can be used as an alternative material in the biomedical applications. Mohini Saxena [5] based on many reviews is saying that plant fibers are better replacement for synthetic fiber in terms of cost, density, renewability and co2 emission. Kestur G.Satyanarayana [6] is saying research and development of biodegradable composites will lead to use of suitable local materials with possible local manufacturing of products through local technological capabilities meeting not only local but global demand. C. W. Nguong, S. N. B. Lee, and D. Sujan [7] found that Nano materials such as Nano Silica Carbide (n-SiC) and Nano Clay can be added into the natural fiber reinforced polymer composite to overcome the water absorption problem. B. Vijaya Ramanathan [8] found that the banana and jute Hybrid composite is showing a good performance and M. Ramesh, K. Palanikumar, K. Hemachandra Reddy [9] found out that sisal /Glass fiber composite is performing well with tensile load. With all this background this research is focused on flax fiber from the family of jute one of the oldest type of fiber [7] along with glass fiber and polyester resin, laminates are prepared and their tensile strength, impact strength, flexural and water absorption properties are found out and compared. 2. Materials and Preparation of Composite Laminates This paper will explain about the preparation of composite laminates and the experimental procedures for their mechanical characterization. The raw materials used in this work are 1. Glass fiber 2. Flax fiber 3. Polyester resin 2.1. Fibers Glass fiber is a one commonly used reinforcing material in fiber reinforced polymer composites as it is very cheaper and less brittle. The glass fibers are in different forms like chopped strands, mats and woven fabrics. The bidirectional woven glass fiber mats are used in this work. The flax fiber belongs to the family of jute fiber having high tensile strength compared to Jute fiber bidirectional woven flax fiber mat of size 30 x 30 cm is used in this work. The properties of the fibers are given in Table 1. Table 1. Properties of Fiber
S.No 1. 2.
Material Glass fiber Flax fiber
Density 2.54g/cm3 1.45g/cm3
Tensile Strength 3450 Mpa 800 to 1500 Mpa
Elastic Modulus 72 Gpa 60 to 80 Gpa
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2.2. Resin The resin used is a general purpose polyester resin which will be used for molding purpose. The polyester resin is selected as it is one of the very common resins used in many of the structural applications, especially in wind turbine blade manufacturing. Polyester is one of the most dominant resins used for small to big wind turbine blade through hand lay method and resin transfer molding depend on the size of the blade. The properties of the resin are given in Table 2. Table 2. Properties of polyester Resin
Name
Density
Viscosity
Tensile strength
Flexural strength
Polyester resin
1.11-1.12 g/cm3
300-400 cps
45N/mm2
110 N/mm2
2.3. Fabrication of Composites Three different types of composite laminates are prepared with different glass and natural fiber weight percentage using the following raw materials. 1. Polyester resin. 2. Methyl ethyl ketone peroxide as catalyst. 3. Cobalt as Accelerator. 4. Glass fiber mat. 5. Flax fiber mat. The laminates are prepared using hand lay-up method as it is simpler and less costly. Initially, the E-glass and flax fiber mats and are cut into 300x300mm sizes, polyester resin and Hardener are mixed in the ratio of 10:1.The laminates prepared have three layers of fibers filled in between polyester resin. The voids produced while preparing the laminates are squeezed out using a roller. Three types of composite laminates prepared as shown in Table 3. Highest care has been given to produce a uniform and homogeneous composite laminate of 300x300 x3 mm. The fabricated specimens are shown in Fig: 1
Fig 1. GFRP, HFRP, NFRP Table 3. Type of Composite Laminate
S. No
Composite Name
Composite Type
1
C1
Glass Fiber Reinforced polyester
2.
C2
Glass and Natural Fiber Reinforced Polyester(Hybrid)
3.
C3
Natural fiber Reinforced Polyester
Layer 1
Layer 2
Layer 3
Glass Fiber Mat Glass Fiber Mat Natural Fiber
Glass Fiber Mat
Glass Fiber Mat
Natural Fiber
Glass Fiber Mat
Natural Fiber
Natural Fiber
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3. Testing Procedure Composite laminates prepared are cut into smaller samples of ASTM standards, for various test procedure and the sized specimens are shown in the forthcoming figures. 3.1. Tensile Test: Samples are cut into the size of (165x25x3) mm in accordance with ASTM standards D-638.The tensile test was carried out on a Universal testing machine with maximum capacity 600 KN of FIE Pvt Ltd at room temperature. The test was carried out in such a way to find out the ultimate tensile strength and elongation at the peak load, the results are analyzed and tensile strength is calculated. The test setup and samples before and after test is presented in Fig: 2
Fig 2. (a)Tensile Testing in UTM; (b) Test specimens
3.2. Flexural Test: Samples are cut into flat shape (125x13x3) mm, in accordance with ASTM standards D-790. The flexural test was carried out in a UTM. The test was carried out in such a way to find out the material’s ability to resist deformation under loading. The results are correlated and flexural strength of the materials is identified. Testing method and samples before and after test is shown in Fig: 3
Fig. 3. (a) Flexural Testing; (b) Test specimens
3.3. Impact Test: Impact energy is the energy that the specimen absorbs once a sudden load is applied. Izod impact testing is an ASTM standard method of determining the impact resistance of materials Sample was cut into flat shape (65x13x3) mm, confirming with ASTM standards D4812. A pendulum from a particular height is released which strike the specimen and breaks it. From the amount of energy absorbed by the specimen, its impact energy can be found out. Samples before and after test is shown in Fig: 4
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C.M.Meenakshi / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 26934–26940
Fig. 4. Impact Test Specimens
3.4. Water Absorption Test: The water absorption test is one of the important tests for natural fiber reinforced composite concern as the natural fiber tends to observe moisture, which has to be carefully noted when it is going to be used in structures which will be exposed to moisture. The Sample was cut into flat shape (30x30x3) mm. They were oven dried and specimens were weighted accurately using weighing balance of 0.1mg accuracy. Then the specimens are immense in distilled water and weight measured after 24, 48 and 72 hours by taking out the specimen and drying it. Using the two readings the water absorption percentage was calculated as per the formula 100 where w1 is the weight of the sample after taken out of distilled water and w0 is the initial weight of the sample. The test setup and samples before and after test is presented in Fig: 5
Fig. 5. (a) water Absorption Test setup; (b) Test Specimens
4. Result and Discussion The GFRP, HFRP, NFRP composite laminates prepared are subjected to mechanical characterization and its properties are observed and compared in Table 4, it brings out a clear picture that even though the GFRP is good in all aspects HFRP is equally good in tensile, impact strength and also it is worth to note that samples of HFRP take for the water absorption test is surprisingly weigh less even than the NFRP samples. NFRP is also showing a promising trend that if appropriate property enhancement treatments are given to the natural fibers definitely it will perform equally well to the HFRP. Table 4. Overall Mechanical Performance of Different Composite Laminate
S.NO
1 2 3
Composite type
Tensile strength (N/mm2)
Flexural strength (N/mm2)
Impact strength (J/m)
GFRP HFRP NFRP
92.57 83.753 44.68
125.54 83.75 61.49
16.33 14.33 12
Avg. Weight of water absorption test samples (gm) 3.68 3.46 3.54
C.M.Meenakshi / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 26934–26940
26939
4.1. Tensile Test: The tensile test result shows that Sample 1 of hybrid composite is showing a lesser value of 57.83N/mm2 whereas the sample 2 and 3 are showing a good value of 72.23 and 70.21 N/mm2 as tensile strength. And it's also noted that sample 1 of natural fiber reinforced composite is also showing positive result of 65.85 N/mm2.The comparison of the tensile strengths of the different composites are shown in Fig 6. From the tensile test it is found that the breaking loads of the hybrid composite samples 1, 2 and 3 are 2.28KN, 2.37KN and 2.82 KN respectively whereas the same for the natural Fiber composite is 2.85KN, 1.41KN and 1.62 KN respectively. Even though the sample 1 of NFRP is showing good performance the value of breaking load of other two samples are very less. On the other hand the ultimate load value of hybrid composite is a little lesser than the glass Fiber composite. 4.2. Flexural Test The flexural test result shows that the flexural strength of hybrid composite is in the range of 80-90N/mm2, sample 3 is having higher value than the other samples and also sample 1 of natural fiber composite is showing almost good performance. And all the samples of HFRP and NFRP reinforced composite are showing positive result which is shown in Fig: 6. 4.3. Impact Test The impact test result shows that the hybrid composite as well as natural fiber composite is showing almost good performance as similar as glass fiber reinforced composite and all the samples of HFRP and NFRP reinforced composite are showing positive results. Especially the HFRP is having almost same impact energy as of GFRP in the range of 11 to 14 J/m. It is understood that HFRP and NFRP are having an equally good impact resistance as GFRP. The result trend is shown in Fig: 6 4.4. Water Absorption Test The water absorption test result shows that the water absorption of HFRP very less as compare to Natural fiber composite and it is slightly higher than the Glass fiber reinforced composite. The trend of water absorption in all the three composites is shown in Table 5. There is a steady increase in the percentage of water absorption in all the three composite with time and it is found that hybrid composite can be used in structures which will have limited exposure to moisture. But it is important to discuss here that many researchers have proven that chemical treatment like alkaline dipping of fiber will improve the behaviour of natural fibers [10]. The comparisons between the water absorption behaviour of different samples are given in Fig: 6. Table 5. Trend of Water Absorption Percentage
Composite type GFRP HFRP NFRP
Time duration
Sample 1 water absorption %
24 hrs 48 hrs 72 hrs 24 hrs 48 hrs 72 hrs 24 hrs 48 hrs 72 hrs
0.15 0.51 0.64 0.61 0.86 1.1 1.4 2.2 2.7
Sample 2 water absorption % 0.16 0.32 0.43 0.83 0.90 1.2 1.5 2.4 2.8
Sample 3 water absorption % 0.20 0.34 0.43 0.64 0.90 1.09 1.39 2.1 2.8
Sample 4 water absorption % 0.21 0.29 0.40 0.56 0.88 1.00 1.4 2.1 2.7
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C.M.Meenakshi / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 26934–26940
Fig: 6 Comparisons of various Test Results
5. Conclusion This research work was carried out to find out the mechanical and water absorbing behavior of the glass, natural and hybrid fiber reinforced polyester composite and the following conclusions are made. This work shows that successful fabrication of flax and glass fiber reinforced polyester hybrid composites and natural fiber composite is possible by simple hand lay-up technique. It has been noticed that the mechanical properties of the composites such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength and water absorption rate of the composites are greatly influenced by the type of fiber. Hybrid composites are showing promisingly good performance almost in the same range of glass fiber reinforced composite in tensile and impact strength and also less in weight. As the natural fiber reinforced composite is also showing comparatively good results its performance can further increase by property enhancement treatments. From the above observations, it is understood that hybrid composite can act as an immediate replacement for glass fiber composites and natural fibers needs further research to improve its performance as reinforcement in composites. 6. Reference [1] Omar Faruk “Bio composites reinforced with Natural fiber: 2000-2010” progress in polymer science 37 (2012) 1552-1596. [2] Maries Idicula Kuruvilla Joseph, Sabu Thomas,” Mechanical Performance of Short Banana/Sisal Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Polyester composite, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 2010 29: 12 originally published online 24 April 2009, DOI: 10.1177/0731684408095033 . [3] Darshill U. Shah, Peter J. Schubel, Mike Clifford “Can Flax Replace E-Glass in structural composites? A small wind turbine blade case study: Composite part b 52 (2013) 172-181. [4] Chennabasappa Hampali, Chandrashekhar Bendigeri,” Investigation of mechanical properties of polyester reinforced with hemp fiber (long fibers and mat) for patellar implant application”, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET) Volume 7, Issue 1, Jan-Feb 2016, pp. 154-163, ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359, IAEME Publication. [5] Mohini Saxena et al “Composite materials from natural resource: recent trends and future potentials.” Advance in composite materials www.intechopen.com – Analysis and man-made materials 09, September, 2011 [6]. Kestur G.Satyanarayana et al,”Biodegradable composites based on lingo cellousic fibers- an overview” progress in polymer science 34(2009) 982-1021. [7] C. W. Nguong, S. N. B. Lee, and D. Sujan A Review on Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Chemical, Nuclear, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Vol:7, No:1, 2013 [8] B. Vijaya Ramanathan et al,”Experimental Determination of Mechanical Properties of Banana Jute Hybrid composite” Fiber and Polymers 2015, Vol 16, NOI 164-172 DOI 10,1007/s1221-015-0164-0. [9] M. Ramesh, *, K. Palanikumar, K. Hemachandra Reddy,” Comparative Evaluation of Properties of Hybrid Glass Fiber- Sisal/Jute Reinforced Epoxy Composites”, Procedia Engineering 51 (2013) 745 – 750. [10]. Ajith Gopinath, Senthil Kumar.M, Elayaperumal. A “Experimental Investigations on Mechanical PropertiesOf Jute Fiber Reinforced Composites with Polyesterand Epoxy Resin Matrices”, Procedia Engineering 97 ( 2014 ) 2052 – 2063