Fabrication and Physico-mechanical Characterization of Short Natural/Synthetic Fiber–Reinforced Hybrid Composites: Effects of Biodegradation and Chemical Aging

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to develop eco-friendly and low-cost multiple short natural fiber-reinforced hybrid composites with the hybridization of comparatively high-strength glass fibers. The hybrid composites were fabricated via hand lay-up by using short jute, silk, water hyacinth, and glass fibers for the reinforcements and unsaturated polyester resin for the thermoset polymer matrix. The reinforcing fibers were randomly oriented, and five types of hybrid composites were fabricated with different types of fiber content (wt.%). The performance of the manufactured hybrid composites was assessed by tensile, flexural, and impact testing, as well as water uptake (%). It was revealed that composites with high glass fiber content (wt.%) exhibited optimum mechanical performance in most cases, while poor moisture resistance performance was exhibited for the hybrid composites containing higher natural fibers (wt.%). The hybrid composite samples were also aged in soil medium (biodegradation) for 25 days and different chemical solutions (alkaline, acidic, and salt) for 10 days. After biodegradation, the drop of tensile strength (TS) and tensile modulus (TM) was revealed to be approximately 38–61 and 58–72%, respectively. On the other hand, after chemical aging, the drop of TS and TM was exhibited to be approximately 49–76% and 51–65%, respectively, for alkali solution aging; 42–75% and 29–76%, respectively, for acid solution aging; and 43–59% and 51–65%, respectively, for salt solution aging.