Design and Investigation of Dynamic Properties of the Developed Glass-Jute-CGS Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Epoxy Polymer Composites for High-Performance Applications

摘要

In the current investigation, hybrid polymer composites developed using alkali treated Calotropis Gigantea stem fibers (CGS) as well as jute (J) and glass (G) fibers with different weight percentages are incorporated into the epoxy matrix. The dynamic characteristics for the inclusion of CGS fibers with glass-jute fiber reinforced epoxy-based laminates were de-termined experimentally. Here, three different sets of laminates, namely G-CGS-J-CGS-G, G-J-CGS-J-G, and G-CGS-CGS-CGS-G, were fabricated by means of the hand lay-up method. In addition, different weight percentages (wt. %) of CGS fibers, 0 wt. %, 5 wt. %, 10 wt. %, 15 wt. %, 20 wt. %, and 25 wt. %, were incorporated in the glass-jute fiber reinforced epoxy resin. The various analytical characterization results confirm that the incorporation of CGS fibers in the glass-jute fiber reinforced epoxy resin enhances the dynamic properties of the glass-jute fiber reinforced epoxy-based laminates, such as storage modulus, loss modulus, and tan6 values. The morphology of the fractured specimens due to the damage mechanisms was observed using a scanning electron microscope. Further, it was observed that the high-est improvement in dynamic properties was achieved for the G-J-CGS-J-G hybrid laminate with 20 wt. % incorporated CGS fibers. The maximum storage modulus was observed in the G-J-CGS-J-G laminate of 8.263 Pa, with a loss modulus of 7.345 Pa and tan6 of 0.433 for 20 wt. % of CGS fibers. From the overall results, it was concluded that the hybrid laminate with 20 wt. % incorporated CGS fibers could be used for high-performance automobile interior applications.