A new study on flax‐basalt‐carbon fiber reinforced epoxy/bioepoxy hybrid composites

https://www.techscience.com/jrm/v10n3/44737/pdf

A Review of Recent Advances in Hybrid Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites

Natural fiber reinforced polymer composites (NFRCs) have demonstrated great potential for many different applications in various industries due to their advantages compared to synthetic fiber-reinforced composites, such as low environmental impact and low cost. However, one of the drawbacks is that the NFRCs present relatively low mechanical properties and the absorption of humidity due to the hydrophilic characteristic of the natural fibre. One method to increase their performance is hybridization. Therefore, understanding the properties and potential of using multiple reinforcement’s materials to develop hybrid composites is of great interest. This paper provides an overview of the recent advances in hybrid natural fiber reinforced polymer composites. First, the main factors that affect the performance of hybrid fiber-reinforced composites were briefly discussed. The effect of hybridization on the mechanical and thermal properties of hybrid composites reinforced with several types of natural fibers (i.e., sisal, jute, curauá, ramie, banana, etc.) or natural fibers combined with synthetic fibers is presented. Finally, the water absorption behaviour of hybrid fiber-reinforced composites is also discussed. It was concluded that the main challenges that need to be addressed in order to increase the use of natural-natural or natural-synthetic hybrid composites in industry are the poor adhesion between natural fibers and matrix, thermal stability and moisture absorption of natural fibers. Some of these challenges were addressed by recent development in fibers treatment and modification, and product innovation (hybridization). 

The hybridization of plant cellulose fillers in polymeric laminates is applied in different applications because of several benefits. The present investigation deals with the fabrication of four other eight-layer laminates by reinforcing bio fillers (coir, sisal, and hemp), Titanium carbide (TiC) nanoparticles, and ranging the stacking sequence of synthetic fabrics (carbon, Kevlar, Basalt, and Innegra) with bio/synthetic epoxy from wet layup technique. The fabricated laminate's characteristics were appraised by examining density, porosity, water absorption, flexural, impact strength, shore hardness, and thermal stability. It was observed from the experimental outcomes that the 3F8LTSE (Sisal, hemp, coir fillers, 2 layers of Carbon, Kevlar, Basalt, Innegra fabrics, and Titanium carbide reinforced synthetic epoxy) composite exhibited higher mechanical characteristics with a higher flexural strength (312.58 MPa), impact strength (35.13 kJ/m2), and shore D hardness (84.95), and decreased water absorption capacity by justifying its adequate for lightweight structures. The scanning electron microscope displayed the fiber pull out, debonding, and dispersion of fillers within the matrix of the composite. The current study also evaluates the prediction and performance of the artificial neural network (ANN) to model the physical, mechanical and thermal characteristics of bio/synthetic epoxy hybrid composites. However, the ANN model was more precise and proved that it is a primary method to optimize the properties of the fabricated bio/synthetic epoxy laminate. 

Effect of bio-fibers and inorganic fillers reinforcement on mechanical and thermal characteristics on Carbon-Kevlar-Basalt-Innegra fiber bio/ synthetic epoxy hybrid composites

Model-based design validation and optimization of drive systems in electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles

The demand for fiber-reinforced composite materials is increasing in structural applications due to their crucial characteristics such as stiffness, strength, and durability and processing benefits at low cost. In this study, jute/carbon hybrid composite laminates were investigated for the effect of fabric hybridization and stacking sequence on tensile, impact, microhardness, water absorption, and thermal behavior of the material. The hand layup process was used to fabricate the composite laminates with four different stacking sequences. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the structural morphology and thermal stability of the fabricated composites. The experimental results exposed that the hybridization process enhanced the properties of jute reinforced composites. FT-IR and XRD analysis revealed that the alkalization process removed the binding constituents like lignin and hemicelluloses from raw jute fiber, which resulted in a higher crystallinity index. The TGA analysis proved that the hybrid composites are thermally stable at a higher temperature. The hybrid composite with Jute/Carbon/Carbon/Jute stacking patterns has the highest tensile strength of 234.68 MPa compred to other stacking sequences. The hybrid composite with Carbon/Jute/Jute/Carbon fabric stacking sequence exhibited enhanced impact strength of 108.45 kJ/m2 and better moisture resistance. The incorporation of jute with carbon declined the tensile strength and impact strength by 22% and 14%, respectively, compared to carbon-reinforced composites. The surface micrographs of the fractured samples exhibit the interfacial bonding of fiber/matrix, matrix crack, fiber fracture, and fiber pullouts.

Mechanical, thermal, and water absorption behaviour of jute/carbon reinforced hybrid composites

Performance optimization of mild hybrid passenger vehicle by dual control strategy for city driving cycle

In this paper, the development of a fuzzy logic model to monitor the weld tensile strength and nugget hardness of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is reported. AA6063-T6 aluminum alloy plates, of 6 mm thickness, were joined, using the FSW process. FSW is a complex solid-state process, and the process parameters, spindle rotational speed, traverse feed rate, and tool shoulder plunge depth, are significant in deciding the mechanical properties of FSW joints. For these 3 significant process parameters and their 3 levels, the most suitable array, Taguchi's L 27 orthogonal array, was selected for the experiments. Based on the experimental results, a Mamdani type fuzzy model was developed to forecast the combined FSW weld tensile strength and nugget hardness. The developed fuzzy model was experimentally validated. As compared with the experimental results, the fuzzy model results exhibit errors of 2.13 and 1.31 % for weld tensile strength and nugget hardness, respectively. The proposed approach could be employed for the online monitoring and control of the FSW process within the range of the process parameters.

/pdf/fuzzy-logic-model-for-combined-monitoring-of-weld-strength-3ixk18sd77.pdf

Fuzzy Logic Model for Combined Monitoring of Weld Strength and Nugget Hardness of Friction Stir Weld

Active utilisation of solar energy for heating and drying is need of the day for several domestic and commercial applications. Modelling and analysis of a typical solar crop dryer cum water heater has been presented in this paper. A thin layered bed solar dryer with water heater was modelled in solid works software. CFD analysis is carried out to evaluate thermal and air flow performance. A performance analysis by analytical modelling was conceded by energy balance equations for working fluids and solar dryer components. The results of analytical method and CFD analysis were associated. The optimum performance parameters of the system were arrived with varied flow rate data.

Subramaniam Senthilkumar

Papers

Mechanical, thermal, and water absorption behaviour of jute/carbon reinforced hybrid composites

Performance optimization of mild hybrid passenger vehicle by dual control strategy for city driving cycle

Fuzzy Logic Model for Combined Monitoring of Weld Strength and Nugget Hardness of Friction Stir Weld

Modelling and analysis of solar dryer cum water heater through CFD and analytical methods

A novel acceleration-based mode selection approach in mild hybrid vehicles