The static and dynamic mechanical properties analysis of ramie/carbon fiber‐reinforced composites

Abstract

The aim is to investigate the advantages of blending affordable, lightweight, and biodegradable plant fibers with carbon fibers compared to single‐fiber composites. Adding ramie fiber to carbon fiber to produce carbon‐ramie fiber (CRFRP) and ramie–carbon fiber‐reinforced composites (RCFRP), and prepare pure carbon fiber and pure ramie fiber composites (carbon fiber‐reinforced composite [CFRP], RFRP) for comparison. Then, their static and dynamic mechanical properties (stretching, bending, low speed, and high‐speed impact) are illustrated. The results show that the CRFRP and RCFRP hybrid composites exhibit excellent properties, although slightly lower than the CFRP composites, but much higher than the RFRP, and the CRFRP composites show a slightly higher performance advantage over the RCFRP composites. Compared with CFRP composites, the tensile strength, flexural strength, and high‐speed impact peak load of CRFRP composites are reduced by 24.07%, 0.12%, and 5.44%, respectively, and the RCFRP composites are reduced by 32.11%, 45.82%, and 37% respectively. The results of the low‐speed impact test also show that the two mixed composites have good fracture elongation and stiffness. Therefore, the mechanical properties of CRFRP and RCFRP composites are comparable to those of CFRP composites, which not only reduces the material cost and reduce weight of the composite but also boosts the solution of the two‐carbon problem.Highlights Innovative combination with natural fibers and synthetic fibers to fabricate hybrid fiber‐reinforced composites. The static (tensile and flexural) and dynamic (low‐speed and high‐speed impact) mechanical properties of CRFRP, RCFRP, CFRP, and RFRP composites are measured. The mechanical properties of CRFRP and RCFRP composites are comparable to those of CFRP composites.