Mechanical and vibration characteristics of hybrid natural fibre-reinforced composite using taguchi grey relational analysis

Abstract

In recent scenarios, the need for lightweight components in aerospace and safety applications results in the formation of new composite materials. The current investigation mainly emphasized the influence of a multi-wall carbon nanotube (0, 0.5 and 1 wt%) with different wt% of natural banana fibre (0, 3 and 6 wt%) / three different resins (Epoxy, Vinylester and General purpose) reinforced in composite using Taguchi’s L9 approach. Tensile, impact and impulsive excitation strengths (Youngs Modulus, Shear Modulus and Poisson’s ratio) are performed to predict the mechanical characteristics of the reinforced composites. ASTM standards are followed for preparation and testing. The outcomes illustrate that the mechanical characteristics are improved by the inclusion of 1 wt% CNT and 6 wt% of banana fibre reinforced in epoxy resin with an increase in impact strength of 5.41 kJ m−2, a tensile strength of 11.25 MPa, Young’s Modulus of 3.54 GPa and Poisson’s ratio of 0.404 when compared to the other composition. The optimal process constraints are found using Hybrid Taguchi-Grey Relationship Analysis. The experiments are carried out using the L9 orthogonal matrix. The results show that experimental trial no 3 could give optimized output. To evaluate the outcomes of the Taguchi optimization and analysis of variance, experimental trials are also carried out. This research aims to increase the strength of the industrial helmet by using this combination.