Effect of Hybrid Reinforcement on the Mechanical Properties of Vinyl Ester Green Composites

The present article highlights the development of hybrid-fiber-reinforced composites using a vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding technique on low-cost flax fibers, carbon fiber, glass fibers and a vinyl ester resin system. Flax fibers are introduced to modulate mechanical properties, green credentials, cost, and the weight of carbon/glass/vinyl ester composites. The hybridization effect of flax, carbon, and glass fibers on mechanical properties, including tensile and flexural strengths, flexural modulus, impact strength, interlaminar shear strength, and damping is evaluated, which is also observed by SEM. The dynamic mechanical analysis was carried out for the composites with a three-point bending mode within a frequency range of 0 to 100 Hz. The results of the experiment reveal that hybrid composites with flax fabric and glass fabric had the highest flexural strength (727.8 MPa) and impact strength (0.171 J/mm²) compared with other composites. The dynamic mechanical analysis also showed that the highest value of Tan δ (0.0722) and damping ratio (2.75 %) were obtained compared with those of other composites.