The effects of Hybridization on the mechanical performance of aramid/polyethylene intraply fabric composites

Abstract

Intraply hybrid composites have been fabricated by the open leaky-mold method in order to examine the effects of hybridization on the mechanical performance of aramid/polyethylene hybrid composite. The flexural properties, interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), and impact properties of these composites have been studied as a function of aramid fibre content and loading direction. Two different stacking sequences ([0/0] 4 and [0/90] 4) were selected for this study, and composites of four different aramid fibre contents (100, 75, 50, and 0% by volume) have been studied. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the fracture surfaces of the intraply hybrid composites. The flexural strength and modulus increased with the volume fraction of aramid fibre, and negative deviations from the rule of mixture were observed in all intraply laminates. When the load was applied in the aramid direction, the highest flexural strength was obtained. This is attributed to the fact that the flexural strength mainly depends on whichever fibre is present in the longitudinal direction of the specimen. In contrast with the flexural property results, intraply hybrid composites exhibited lower ILSS values than polyethylene-fibre composites because of the difference in the failure modes in the flexural and ILSS tests. In addition, intraply hybrid composites exhibited lower impact resistance than aramid fibre composites because the level of maximum load had a major effect on the impact absorption energy.