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The effect of nanoclay on the mechanical properties of Isophthalic unsaturated polyester was studied with the help of robust design Concept. Organo modified MMT nanoclay (Nanomer 1.31PS) was used as reinforcement. The weight percentage of nanoclay, impeller blade design, mixing hours and mixing speed were taken as control factors. In Taguchi design of experiments, L9 orthogonal array was employed to investigate the effect of control factors on mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural strength. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) results show the intercalation /exfoliation of clays in the polyester matrix.

Over the years, application of composite materials has got wider. So there is a necessity for development of new materials to satisfy the environmental requirements. It is viable through the process of hybridization of natural fibers to synthetic fibers. This investigation is carried out to determine the tensile and flexural strength of hybrid composites with various fiber combinations and stacking sequence. Thus it is easy to identify the natural fiber hybrid combination with high mechanical properties under static and varying thermal load conditions. The various fiber materials are meticulously chosen and three conventional and six different hybrid laminates were fabricated with various stacking sequences of selected fibers using hand layup technique. The tensile and flexural properties are determined through mechanical testing and compared with conventional materials. The failure morphologies are captured and investigated with zoom optical cameras. On analyzing the results, it is observed that carbon-flax hybrid composites exhibit nearly equivalent specific strength at a reduced cost compared to the carbon/glass fiber hybrid composites and also the effect of the stacking sequence in mechanical properties is elucidated through this study. Varying thermal load analysis reveals that there is a considerable loss in mechanical properties due to thermal exposure.

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