Abstract
Hybridization of natural fiber with synthetic fiber to reinforce polymer matrix composites is an effective way of increasing fatigue strength of composites with substantial amount of bio-based content. Flax is the strongest type of bast natural fiber, possessing excellent mechanical and damping properties. Fatigue properties of flax fiber hybridized with synthetic carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites were studied. Fatigue properties of inter-ply hybrid flax-carbon fiber reinforced composite were compared to intra-ply hybrid flax-carbon fiber reinforced composites through tensile fatigue testing at 70% load of ultimate tensile strength and with a loading frequency of 3 Hz. For similar amount (by mass) of flax and carbon fiber, intra-ply flax-carbon fiber hybrid reinforced composite exhibited a very large increase (>2000%) in fatigue life compared to inter-ply flax-carbon fiber hybrid reinforced composites. Suitable hybridization can produce hybrid composites that are as strong as synthetic fiber composites while containing a high bio-based content of natural fibers.
Highlights
Tensile test of inter-ply (1C/2F/1C/2F/1C) and intra-ply flax-carbon hybrid composites were carried out to define their characteristics under static loading
Mean ultimate tensile strength of inter-ply and intra-ply hybrid composites were measured as 805.26 MPa and 765.46 MPa, respectively
As the variation in tensile strength measured between specimens was small in both cases, only two specimens were tested under quasi-static tensile test
Summary
Fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites are widely being used due to their desired properties such as lower weight, lower cost, and excellent corrosion resistance [1]. They have wide application in the automotive industry (car interior, door panels, dashboards, etc.) [2], aerospace, civil engineering [3], defense, sporting goods [4], shipbuilding, etc. Synthetic fibers have high mechanical strength and present significant environmental impacts [6]. Using natural fibers as reinforcement in composites increases the bio-content [7], but in addition presents other benefits such as improved vibration damping properties [8]. Since natural fibers are not mechanically as strong as some synthetic fibers [9], composites using natural fibers can suffer from lower mechanical strength as compared to composites using synthetic fibers
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