Development and mechanical characterization of novel polymer-based flexible composite and optimization of stacking sequences using VIKOR and PSI techniques

Abstract

The development of natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites is becoming prominent in numerous engineering applications over the synthetic fiber-reinforced composites mainly because of their environment-friendly characteristics. This article deals with comparative study on selection of optimal stacking sequence (jute/rubber/jute (JRJ), jute/rubber/rubber/jute, and jute/rubber/jute/rubber/jute) of the jute/natural rubber-based completely biodegradable flexible composite using multi-attribute decision making (MADM) approaches namely hybrid entropy-VIse Kriterijumska Optimizacija kompromisno Resenja (VIKOR) and preference selection index (PSI) methods. Tensile strength, tear strength, specific impact strength, and specific wear rate are used as attributes for MADM methods. The results show good agreement between hybrid entropy-VIKOR and PSI methods used for stacking sequence selection. Scanning electron microscope analysis is carried out to study the failure mechanisms of the proposed flexible composite. The findings of the present study led to the choice of JRJ as the preferred stacking sequence among all the three stacking sequences considered as it exhibited the best overall properties compared to other two configurations of the flexible composite. © The Author(s) 2019.