Thin Hybrid Hemp/Carbon Fiber Composites: Manufacturing, Flexural, and Impact Behavior

Abstract

This work is focused on the manufacturing and mechanical characterization of hybrid thin laminates in which the reinforcement is a combination of woven carbon and hemp fibers. Two types of hemp fabrics that differ in areal density were adopted for the production of the hybrid samples in sandwich configuration (1.8 mm in thickness), and pure carbon laminates were fabricated as reference. An ad-hoc manufacturing process was presented, and low-velocity impacts (at 2 and 5 J) and flexural tests were carried out. The results proved that, depending on the required performance, two carbon plies can be replaced by one hemp ply without affecting the performance of the structure while at the same time enhancing its sustainability.