Effect of Composition of Fibers on Properties of Hybrid Composites

Fibers embedded in the matrix of another material are the best example of modern day composite materials. Hybrid Composites made out of an amalgamation of Natural Fibers such as banana, jute, and coir along with glass fiber embedded in polymers have potential applications in automotive, aircraft and marine industries for their unique characteristics like high specific strength, light weight, design flexibility, corrosion resistance, biodegradability and low cost. In this work, epoxy hybrid composites reinforced with glass fiber mats and banana, jute, coir fibers of random lengths between 10-25 mm are prepared by varying their compositions in terms of weight percentage. The composites are fabricated by hand lay-up process and cut into test specimens as per ASTM Standards. Their mechanical characteristics such as Tensile Strength, Flexural Strength, Impact Strength, Hardness, Density and Water Absorption Capacity are evaluated and analysed.