Mechanical, thermal, and water absorption behaviour of jute/carbon reinforced hybrid composites

Abstract

The demand for fiber-reinforced composite materials is increasing in structural applications due to their crucial characteristics such as stiffness, strength, and durability and processing benefits at low cost. In this study, jute/carbon hybrid composite laminates were investigated for the effect of fabric hybridization and stacking sequence on tensile, impact, microhardness, water absorption, and thermal behavior of the material. The hand layup process was used to fabricate the composite laminates with four different stacking sequences. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the structural morphology and thermal stability of the fabricated composites. The experimental results exposed that the hybridization process enhanced the properties of jute reinforced composites. FT-IR and XRD analysis revealed that the alkalization process removed the binding constituents like lignin and hemicelluloses from raw jute fiber, which resulted in a higher crystallinity index. The TGA analysis proved that the hybrid composites are thermally stable at a higher temperature. The hybrid composite with Jute/Carbon/Carbon/Jute stacking patterns has the highest tensile strength of 234.68 MPa compred to other stacking sequences. The hybrid composite with Carbon/Jute/Jute/Carbon fabric stacking sequence exhibited enhanced impact strength of 108.45 kJ/m2 and better moisture resistance. The incorporation of jute with carbon declined the tensile strength and impact strength by 22% and 14%, respectively, compared to carbon-reinforced composites. The surface micrographs of the fractured samples exhibit the interfacial bonding of fiber/matrix, matrix crack, fiber fracture, and fiber pullouts.