Study on Physical and Mechanical Behavior of Bauhinia Vahlii Fiber Filled Glass–Epoxy Hybrid Composites

Abstract

Epoxy is well-suited for a number of industrial applications because of its versatility and its diversity. In many high-performance fields however, the overall use of epoxy limited its employment due to delamination, intrinsic fragility, low impact resistance and hardness to fractures. Epoxy's limitations can be overcome through inclusion and modification prior to industrial use. The present research describes the development of hybrid composites made of epoxy reinforced with glass fiber and filled with Bauhinia Vahlii fiber. Bauhinia Vahlii (BV) found to be most promising natural fiber for manufacturing composites for its superior mechanical as well as thermal properties. In this study, the incorporation of BV fiber on physical and mechanical behavior of glass–epoxy composites was investigated. Various composite compositions with three distinct natural BV fiber percentages (4, 8, 12%) were fabricated using a hand layup technique. The results showed that increasing the percentage of natural fiber concentration improves mechanical qualities, however at larger BV fiber loading, the strength reduces due to presence of more voids which signifies poor bonding. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.