Experimental Investigation on Mechanical and Viscoelastic properties of Kenaf, Basalt and Carbon Fiber reinforced Hybrid Epoxy Polymer Composites

In this study, a hybrid polymer composite reinforced with natural fibers such as Kenaf and Basalt, as well as carbon fiber was developed and analyzed for mechanical properties of the composite with varying fiber content and orientation. The composites were made using a hand layup process in which the plies were alternately stacked. Further, specimens were cut from the fabricated laminate according to ASTM standards. For the tensile and flexural test was conducted using a Universal Testing Machine (UTM). It is noticed that a hybrid composite made up of both natural fibers and carbon fiber has shown greater strength than a composite made up of only natural fibers with the same volume percentage of fiber. Furthermore, it is observed that the hybrid fiber composite in equal proportion is shown maximized strength.