Mechanical, Dynamic Mechanical and Vibration Behavior of Nanoclay Dispersed Natural Fiber Hybrid Intra-ply Woven Fabric Composite

Abstract

Influence of nanoclay dispersion on mechanical, dynamic mechanical and free vibration characteristics of basket type intra-ply woven banana/jute (banana yarn-weft direction, jute yarn-warp direction) hybrid polyester composite has been investigated. Results revealed that loading of nanoclay enhances the mechanical properties of the composite significantly as it improves the adhesion between fiber and matrix. Dynamic mechanical analysis result reveals that nanoclay addition significantly increases the storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the intra-ply hybrid composite. From free vibration studies, carried out on laminated beam like structures, it is found that the natural frequency of the composite laminate increases till 2 wt% of nanoclay while the modal damping increases when the wt% of nanoclay is more than 2. However, due to the agglomeration effect of nanoclay the properties are not improved for nanoclay loading beyond 2 wt%. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Singapore.