A study on the properties of natural sandwich laminates

Abstract

Objectives: To analyze the characteristic strengths which suits for structural applications on newly developed fiber reinforced laminates. Methods/Analysis: Four laminates were processed and prepared by including three types of reinforcements namely, natural, metallic and synthetic fibers at various combinations in polyester matrix resin. The reinforcement composition has been maintained as 30 % by weight and the polymeric resin composition has been maintained at 70 % by weight in all the laminates. The influence of reinforcements on the characteristics has been examined by changing the composition of reinforcements in each laminates. Findings: Mechanical strengths of the developed laminates under tension, compression, flexure and impact have been investigated. The work revealed that the pure natural composite is lacking in all characteristic strengths but showed an extended elongation at break. All the characteristic strengths are found to be good when there is an equal composition of natural, metallic and synthetic reinforcement. Application/Improvement: Introduction of new composites helps the end users to select an appropriate alternative to conventional materials. This research work aims to develop new hybrid composite with inclusion of natural, metallic and synthetic fibers as reinforcements.