Fiber Alignment's Effect on the Properties of Hybrid Glass/Flax Fiber-Reinforced Epoxy Composite Laminates

In this study, glass fiber and flax fiber reinforced with epoxy and ZnO nanofiller were used to create composites utilizing the hand layup method. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel hybrid polymer-matrix composite that can be employed in various application areas such as aerospace, sports, medical equipment, railways, etc. The fabricated composite was made with epoxy as a matrix material reinforced with nano-ZnO, glass fiber, and flax fiber. Six fiber layers with varying fiber orientations were inserted into the matrix in a specific stacking order. The results show the maximum tensile, flexural, impact, and ILSS as the values of 264.74 MPa, 492.12 MPa, 595.72 J/m, and 50.05, respectively. Along with the mechanical properties, Physical characterization such as density, void content, thickness swelling, moisture content, and water absorption tests were conducted. FE-SEM test was conducted to check the uniformity of nanoparticles in the matrix material and the breakdown of fibers.