Effect of stacking sequence on mechanical, water absorption, and biodegradable properties of novel hybrid composites for structural applications
Tamilselvan Manickam, Jenish Iyyadurai, J. Maniraj, Ashokkumar Babuchellam, Muthukrishnan Mayakrishnan, Felix Sahayaraj Arockiasamy
Abstract
Abstract This study used a hand layup process to create tri-layer hybrid composites composed of snake grass fiber (SGF) and jute fiber (JF). Two types of hybrid composites were investigated: jute/snake grass/jute (J/S/J) and snake grass/jute/snake grass (S/J/S). The fabricated composites were subjected to mechanical characterization and water absorption studies to verify their compatibility for various applications. The outcome revealed that the J/S/J hybrid sample shows the highest tensile and flexural strength at 68.46 and 78.62 MPa, respectively. This is due to stacking the maximum-strength JF as an exterior layer in the hybrid J/S/J sample. Meanwhile, the S/J/S composite shows a very high impact strength value of 4.45 kJ/mm 2 due to the placement of SGF at the outermost layer. It leads to absorbing more impact energy at sudden load applications. Water absorption studies revealed that the S/J/S composite absorbed more moisture than the J/S/J composite. Furthermore, the S/J/S composite exhibited greater biodegradability than the J/S/J composite based on soil burial experiments. From this study, it can be concluded that the J/S/J composite is suitable for structural applications because it has higher tensile and flexural qualities. In contrast, the S/J/S composite can be employed under damping conditions because it has better impact strength.