Performance of carbon fiber (CF)/Ceiba petandra fiber (CPF) reinforced hybrid polymer composites for lightweight high-performance applications

Abstract

Natural and synthetic fibers have their own advantages and disadvantages. For this reason, hybridization was performed to combine the two fibers to get composite reinforcement with high mechanical properties. It is used to synergize the two fibers aiming to create a higher performance than that of natural fiber-reinforced composites. This study used carbon fiber and natural fiber namely Ceiba petandra fiber (CPF). Compared to hybrid and CPF reinforced composites, carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced composites had superior mechanical properties, especially in terms of tensile and flexural characteristics. However, it is more brittle and expensive. In contrast, CPF composite has the lowest tensile strength, flexural quality, and abundance. The optimal value was shown in CF/CPF reinforced hybrid composites with a composition of 15 % CF and 15 % CPF, with tensile and flexural strength reaching 130.16 ± 17.37 MPa and 98.53 ± 12.2 MPa. Hybrid composite improves the thermal stability of the composite. Findings showed that incorporating natural and synthetic fibers produced composite materials with acceptable and ideal mechanical performance.