Experimental investigation on the mechanical and morphological behavior of Prosopis juliflora bark fibers/E‐glass/carbon fabrics reinforced hybrid polymeric composites for structural applications

Abstract

AbstractThe present world scenario demands for the utilization of natural fiber‐reinforced polymeric composites as opposed to synthetic fiber‐reinforced composites mainly due to their environmental friendly behavior, availability in abundance, cost‐effectiveness, and lightweight and moderately high‐strength properties. Along with the above said advantages, the ease of manufacturing of natural fibers has made the researchers around the globe to exploit several locally available natural fibers to understand their feasibility as reinforcement phases in different polymeric composites and their suitability in various commercial and engineering applications. This research investigation has been conducted to discover a better natural/synthetic fiber‐reinforced polymer hybrid composite for commercial engineering applications. This research investigation intends to recognize the effect of laminate stacking sequence of Prosopis juliflora fibers (PJFs)/E‐glass/carbon fabrics reinforced hybrid epoxy composites under five different composite designations. Manual hand layup method is used as the fabrication method, while studies on physical, mechanical, and morphological properties have been conducted in this research work. From the results obtained, it is obvious that the properties of PJFs/E‐glass/carbon fabrics reinforced epoxy composites enhanced due to the hybridization with the addition of E‐glass and carbon fabrics in PJFs and augments its suitability in the use of engineering structural applications.