Experimental investigation on mechanical properties and free vibration characteristics of epoxy-based glass/flax laminates

In the present study, an attempt is made to replace the synthetic glass fiber used in the FRP structures in terms of natural flax fibers without much sacrifice on static and dynamic stability of the structure. Three types of glass/flax hybrid composite laminates were prepared with different fiber volume fraction of glass and flax fibers. For better understanding purpose, a dedicated glass and dedicated flax laminates were also fabricated. All the laminates were fabricated by vacuum bag molding method with uniform laminate thickness. The mechanical properties of the fabricated laminates, such as tensile strength and flexural strength, were evaluated in accordance with ASTM standards. The impulse excitation technique was used to assess the free vibration characteristics of glass/flax laminates such as modal frequency and material damping. Based on experimentally evaluated mechanical and vibration characteristics a suitable fiber volume fraction for the preferred laminate thickness was suggested to achieve optimum static and dynamic stability.