PROCESSING & CHARACTERIZATION OF JUTE/GLASS FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY BASED HYBRID COMPOSITES

Abstract

Now-a-days, the natural fibres from renewable natural resources offer the potential to act as a reinforcing material for polymer composites alternative to the use of glass, carbon and other man-made fibres. Among various fibres, jute is most widely used natural fibre due to its advantages like easy availability, low density, low production cost and satisfactory mechanical properties. For a composite material, its mechanical behaviour depends on many factors such as fibre content, orientation, types, length etc. Attempts have been made in this research work to study the effect of fibre loading and orientation on the physical, mechanical and water absorption behaviour of jute/glass fibre reinforced epoxy based hybrid composites. A hybrid composite is a combination of two or more different types of fibre in which one type of fibre balance the deficiency of another fibre. Composites of various compositions with three different fibre loading (30wt%, 40wt% and 50wt%) and three different fibre orientation (0°, 30° and 60°) are fabricated using simple hand lay-up technique. It has been observed that there is a significant effect of fibre loading and orientation on the performance of jute/glass fibre reinforced epoxy based hybrid composites. TOPSIS a multi-criteria decision making approach is also used to select the best alternative from a set of alternatives. Finally, the morphology of fractured surfaces is examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).