Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber and Coconut Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Polymer Matrix Composite with Bentonite Powder as Particulate Filler

摘要

In this paper experimental analysis is carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of hybrid polymer matrix composite, consisting of epoxy as matrix with coconut fiber and e-glass fiber as reinforcements and bentonite powder as filler. The mechanical tests carried out includetensile, bending and hardness tests along with the moisture absorption test. With the addition of the bentonite powder as filler, there was an improvement in the mechanical properties of the hybrid composite and an observation was made that bentonite particulates can be successfully used asparticulate fillers with epoxy resin as matrix. Inclusion of bentonite in the epoxy matrix improved the tensile, flexural and hardness properties for lower percentages around 6%, however with higher percentage addition of filler, led to inferior mechanical properties of the composite mainlybecause of agglomeration and less bonding.