Failure Behavior and Mechanism of Pultruded Kenaf/Glass Hybrid Composite Under Compressive Impact Loading

Abstract

A substantial amount of kenaf fiber research has been carried out recently to incorporate more sustainable materials into the production process. For many years, scientists have studied the properties of kenaf and the hybrid composites it may form. Composites made from kenaf and synthetic fibers were the focus of the majority of the study. Similarly, the researchers discovered mechanical characteristics as a fundamental truth. Despite this, earlier research on particular properties has not permitted using kenaf composites for load-bearing purposes. Nevertheless, kenaf composites can significantly influence car exteriors and other vital applications, even if their impact characteristics are only studied in other materials science disciplines. Due to this, dynamic failure behavior and mechanism of unidirectional kenaf and kenaf/glass hybrid composite compressive response were examined. Therefore, both composite specimens were loaded compressively under static and dynamic loading at a strain rate range of 0.1/s to 1700/s. The results showed that the failure behavior and mechanism of kenaf and kenaf/glass hybrid composite were different under static and dynamic loadings. Shear banding failure occurred at 60 degrees for kenaf composites. In contrast, kenaf/glass composites were fractured longitudinally along the fiber direction under static loading. Glass fibers in hybrid composites were more vulnerable to damage under microscopic analysis because they carried most loads. Consequently, the kenaf fibers in hybrid composites were less damaged than those in kenaf composites, which had fiber breakage, fiber splitting, and fiber-matrix debonding.