Investigation of mechanical properties of luffa cylindrica fibre reinforced epoxy hybrid composite

Abstract

In this present work, the effect of stacking sequence on mechanical properties of untreated luffa cylindrica and glass fibre reinforced epoxy hybrid composites has been investigated experimentally. Composite laminates were fabricated by hand lay-up technique. All the composites were made with a total of 4 plies, by varying the number and position of glass layers so as to obtain six different stacking sequences. One group of neat epoxy samples was also fabricated for comparison purpose. Samples were analysed for their mechanical and flexural properties to establish the effect of various stacking sequence. It is found that the optimum properties (tensile and flexural strength) are achieved from hybrid laminate (S5) i.e. by placing two luffa cylindrica fibre mats at the middle when supported by two glass fibre mats on either side.

Keywords: Luffa cylindrica-glass hybrid, Tensile strength, Flexural strength, ILSS, SEM