Fracture Analysis & Characterisation of Hybrid Reinforced Composites

Applications of composite materials in many engineering fields are growing due to their benefits like superior strength to weight ratio, stiffness and corrosion resistance etc. Properties of fibre reinforced polymers can be tailor made to suit the need of specific application. Synthetic fibres such as Carbon fibre, Glass fibre and Kevlar are widely used as reinforcements in polymer based composites. But in recent years, the environmental concern has forced us to search for suitable substitute for synthetic fibres. Natural fibre composites are widely reported as an appropriate alternative for synthetic fibres. Natural fibres such as sisal, bamboo, jute, coconut and Banana fibre were found to have good mechanical properties. But, the mechanical properties of natural fibres are inferior to that of synthetic fibres. Most of the natural fibres are hydrophilic in nature, i.e. they tend to absorb moisture from the environment. These issues can be addressed by hybridising the natural fibre with synthetic fibres. In this work, hybrid fibre reinforced composites were developed by using banana fibre and glass fibre as reinforcement with epoxy resin.

Autorentext

Prof. Dr. Chandrasekaran Manohar graduated with a Ph.D from National Institute of Technology, Trichy, India. He is having 20 Yrs of Experience in various levels and from Sept 2011 till now he is Professor and Director, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, VISTAS, Chennai. His area of expertise includes Job Shop Scheduling, Optimization, Heuristics.