Fabrication, properties, and morphologies of hybrid polymer composites reinforced with jute and Rosa hybrida fibers.

This study investigates novel polymer composites through the hybridization of jute and recently explored Rosa hybrida (RH) fiber. The jute/Rosa hybrida fiber preforms are made with various weight ratios (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, and 0/100) and then incorporated into the epoxy matrix by the hand lay-up technique to fabricate composites. Their water absorption, mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, impact, and hardness), and morphologies are then evaluated. It is found that the water absorption of composites reduces with increasing RH fiber, and the 25% jute/75% RH fiber composite displays minimum water absorption. The tensile and flexural properties, and hardness of hybrid composites decrease as the RH fiber content increases, and the hybrid comprising 75% jute and 25% RH fiber exhibits better tensile modulus and strength of 2 GPa and 41.93 MPa, and flexural modulus and strength of 1.55 GPa and 91.27 MPa, respectively, and hardness of 82.7 Shore D among other hybrids, whereas the impact strength of composites tends to enhance with rising RH fiber loading, and the hybrid of 25% jute/75% RH offers a maximum impact strength (17.67 kJ/m²) among other hybrids. Additionally, the tensile and flexural properties, hardness of 100% jute fiber composite, and impact strength of 100% RH fiber composite are found to be noteworthy. Fracture morphologies also show that composites fail because of fiber pullout, jute and RH fibers fracture, fiber-matrix debonding, and voids. This study provides some insights to promote the application of jute/RH fiber-based composites in the internal structures of automobiles (e.g., seat foundations and dashboards), aircraft (e.g., interior panels, overhead storage compartments, and seating structures), and construction (e.g., wall panels and partitions). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]