Investigations on Aluminium wire mesh, Banana Fiber and Glass Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Composites

Abstract

Objectives: In the fiber metal laminates aluminium has been preferred choice when it comes to the selection of the type of metal to be used as reinforcement in FML, due to its easy of availability, favourable mix of mechanical characteristics and low cost. Among fibers, glass has been found out to be most reliable as it is cheaper than its counterparts, and at the same time does not compromise on its mechanical properties. Methods: The hand-layup process is employed to fabricate two types of composites: a normal GFRP and a GFRP hybrid. The hybrid, named GABGRP (glass-aluminium-banana-glassreinforced plastic) comprises of layers of both aluminium and banana fibers as reinforcements in a glass fiber-base. The aluminium in this study has been employed in two different forms: foil and wire mesh. The GABGRP has been fabricated, and subjected to material testing to find out aluminium in which form, aluminium is more suitable as a reinforcement. The fabricated materials are cut in accordance to ASTM standards and are subjected to various mechanical tests, namely tensile, flexural, impact and hardness tests. Findings: The investigation conducted on Glass-Aluminium Foil/Wire Mesh- Banana Fibre-Glass Hybrid Composites, it has been inferred that the GABGRP (with Al wire mesh) hybrid composite has the highest flexural strength among its counterparts. Also, the GABGRP (with Al wire mesh) hybrid composite has the highest tensile load capacity when compared with the other two composite types. GABGRP hybrid also has a higher toughness value than the standard GFRP. GABGRP (with Al wire mesh) also exhibits a lower hardness value, which shows that it is less brittle. Thus, it is inferred that the inclusion of banana fibers and aluminium wire mesh as reinforcements in GFRP hybrid composites influences its mechanical properties. Improvement/Applications: The inclusion of aluminium as wire mesh and banana fibers in GFRP that influences its mechanical properties, contributing towards a higher flexibility, ductility, impact and tensile properties.