No abstract

The natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials offered extensive range of properties which are suitable for large number of engineering application. The natural fibers have been abundantly available in the world. It has unique properties compared to synthetic fiber and reduces the plastic usage. This article reports the extraction process of natural fibers, characterization of natural fibers, and preparation of natural fiber-reinforced composites. The mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural, impact, and dynamic properties as well as thermal and machinability properties of the composites with and without chemically treated fibers were reported. The water absorption capability of the composites and its effect on mechanical properties were also reported.

No abstract

Composite materials are extensively used in the structural applications due to its enhanced load-bearing capabilities. Mostly, the mechanical properties of the natural fiber-reinforced hybrid composites are better than the single fiber-reinforced composites and almost equal to the synthetic fiber composites. This paper presents the extraction and preparation methodology of the isophtallic polyester composites using the naturally available fibers like snake grass, banana and coir fibers. The tensile and flexural properties of the snake grass fiber-reinforced composites are compared with the snake grass/banana and snake grass/coir fiber-reinforced hybrid composites. The stress–strain curves of the snake grass, snake grass/banana and snake grass/coir fiber composites and the fiber pull-outs in the fractured specimen are analyzed for the higher and lower mechanical properties. The result shows that the snake grass/banana and snake grass/coir fiber composites have the maximum tensile and flexural properties when compared with the snake grass fiber composites.

This paper investigates the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of Metal Matrix Composites prepared using Al7075 alloy as a matrix, Silicon Carbide and Titanium Carbide as reinforcement particles. Two step stir casting process was used to fabricate the composites by varying volume fractions of Silicon Carbide and Titanium Carbide (0 to 15 vol. %). Microstructural analysis, mechanical and corrosion behavior were used to evaluate the performance of the composites. Uniform distribution of reinforcement particle was observed through optical photomicrographs. Vickers micro hardness tests were performed and the hardness values were increased with an increase in reinforcement from 0 to 15 vol. %. The tensile strength of the 10 vol. % of aluminum hybrid matrix composite was better than that of the base alloy. In 3.5% NaCl solution, it was observed that the 15 vol. % of the aluminum hybrid matrix composite have higher corrosion resistance in comparison the base alloy.