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Effect of hybridization on dynamic mechanical properties of calotropis procera/glass fiber reinforced epoxy hybrid composites was investigated. The hand layup method was used to fabricate composite...

Natural fibers are widely used for reinforcement in polymer composite materials and proved to be effectively replacing synthetic fiber reinforced polymer composites to some extent in applications like domestic, automotive and lower end aerospace parts. The natural fiber reinforced composites are environment friendly, have high strength to weight ratio as well as specific strengths comparable with synthetic glass fiber reinforced composites. In the present work, hybrid epoxy composites were fabricated using calotropis procera and glass fibers as reinforcement by hand lay-up method. The fibre reinforcement in epoxy matrix was maintained at 20 wt%. In 20 wt% reinforcement of fibre, the content of calotropis procera and glass fibre were varied from 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%. The dry sliding wear test as per ASTM G99 and three body abrasive wear test as per ASTM G65 were conducted to find the tribological properties by varying speed, load, distance and abrasive size. The hybrid composite having 5 wt% calotropis procera and 15 wt% glass fibre showed less wear loss in hybrid composites both in sliding wear test as well as in abrasive wear test which is comparable with 20 wt% glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite which marked very low wear loss. The SEM analysis was carried out to study the worn out surfaces of dry sliding wear test and three body abrasive wear test specimens.

The natural fibers are finding wide application in fiber reinforced polymer composites, which have the ability to replace synthetic fiber like glass fiber which is widely used as reinforcement in fiber reinforced polymer composites to some extent. The natural fibers are environmental friendly and have high specific strengths. The surface treatment to the fibers removes the surface impurities and makes the fiber surface rough. This rough surface facilitates better mechanical interlocking of the fiber with resin improves adhesion and a strong fiber-matrix bond ensured the effective load transfer. The present investigation deals with Calotropis procera fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The Calotropis procera fiber is characterized by very low density, high strength and is also widely available in southern parts of India. The effect of alkali treatment of fiber on the mechanical properties was investigated. The alkali treated fibers showed higher tensile strength, modulus and elongation, compared to untreated fiber. The composites are fabricated by reinforcing untreated and alkali treated Calotropis procera fibers in epoxy matrix respectively. The mechanical test results indicate increase in mechanical properties of alkali treated Calotropis procera fiber reinforced epoxy composites such as tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and hardness, compared to untreated Calotropis procera fiber reinforced composites.