Experimental investigation on the ballistic impact properties of areca/kenaf fiber- reinforced hybrid epoxy composite plates

• Published in: Materials today : proceedings 2022, Vol.68, p.2195-2198
• Main Authors: Sathyaseelan, P., Raja, K., Arun Prasad, Murali, Manivannan, J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Areca; Ballistic; Epoxy; Impact; Kenaf
• ISSN: 2214-7853; 2214-7853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2022.08.432

Hybridization of natural fibers along with other natural fibers enhances the properties of the developed composite materials. Such developed hybrid composite materials, either with natural or synthetic fibers, find their usage in automobile industries, construction, etc. Hybrid composites are used to make parts for armed vehicles, bullet-proof jackets, and helmets in the defense industry. The developed composites have to experience different loads in their working conditions. Hence, it is essential to know the impact strength of the composite material. The present work studies the ballistic impact properties of hybrid laminates of areca and kenaf fibers. The two fiber mats were fabricated in four different laying patterns to maintain five layers. Among the four sequences, two laminates are pure composites. The hand lay-up technique was employed to fabricate the composites. Matrix materials are prepared as per the rule of mixture. The manufactured composite laminates were cut into the required dimension, and a ballistic impact test was carried out as per the standards of ASTM. The result shows that composite made with all layers of areca has better impact strength and absorbs greater impact energy. The composite with a skin layer of areca and adjacent layer of Kenaf also absorbs good impact strength than the pure kenaf fibers composites.