Investigation of the energy absorption behavior and damage mechanisms of aramid/carbon/jute fiber hybrid epoxy composites

Abstract

AbstractToday, various fiber reinforcements are used in automotive, aerospace and defense industries. Many of these fibers are synthetic structures, which can cause problems such as environmental pollution and high manufacturing costs. Researchers have turned to the use of more environmental‐friendly and cost‐effective natural materials to minimize these problems. In this study energy absorption properties of the fiber laminate‐hybrid epoxy composites were investigated with dynamic loadings. Fiber type and hybridization effects were investigated under drop weight impact tests with 10, 20, 30 and 50 Joule impact energies. Besides, mechanical characteristics were examined via quasi‐static bending tests. In this context, double and triple fiber reinforced natural/synthetic and synthetic/synthetic hybrid composites were manufactured as sandwich type. Furthermore, it is also aimed an evaluation of using natural fibers in ballistic activities with this study. Fiber materials consist of woven type carbon, aramid and jute fibers. Hybrid composites were manufactured with the aim of providing mechanical optimization between the fibers and enabling the fiber layers to absorb more impact energy. In addition, performance evaluation was made by comparing natural/synthetic reinforced hybrid composites with full synthetic hybrid composites. The results show that significant improvements were achieved in bending and impact resistance of the composites by using jute fibers to the inner layers.Highlights Drop weight impact tests were carried out to determine the energy absorption behavior of the hybrid composites. Fiber type is effective in the mechanical behavior of the composite materials. Natural hybrid composites show well enough mechanical properties as well as low cost.