Puncture Impact Performance of Coir- Aramid/Epoxy Hybrid Composite: Effects of Stacking Configurations Azrin Hani Abdul Rashid, Siti Nor Hafiza Mohamad, Khairani Nasir, Muhammad Farid Shaari, Mohd Nazrul Roslan, Noraini Marsi, Siti Hana Nasir, Mohd Faizal Esa, Salwa Mahmood Innovative Manufacturing Technology Research Group, Advanced Technology Centre, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Pagoh Educational Hub, KM 1, Jalan Panchor, 84600 Pagoh, Muar, Johor azrin@uthm.edu.my Abstract—Hybrid composites allowed the possibility to alter the composite properties for a specific application, improving their manufacturability and reducing the cost by introducing cheaper fibres. Therefore, the hybrid of natural and synthetic fibres in a composite system has attracted interest in research field attributable to environmental consciousness. The focus of the study is to determine whether any improvement in impact response exists as a result of combining high-performance woven Kevlar synthetic fibre and woven coir natural fibre in a specified laminated stacking sequence. Thus, the study was conducted by performing an experiment to differentiate the capabilities of hybrid by comparing the impact responses effect of different stacking configurations. It focused on the impact resistance and penetration behaviour of the hybrid composites, as well as their suitability for modern structural applications. The results from this study showed that the hybrid of coir/Kevlar-epoxy laminated composites revealed an improved in impact response. Index Terms— epoxy, hybrid composites, puncture impact, woven Coir, woven Kevlar I. INTRODUCTION Synthetic fibres are frequently used and applied in various outstanding applications due to their flexibility and greater mechanical and chemical properties, which have aided the industry in producing mechanical machinery or electrical components. Nowadays, new investment in developing new materials in order to minimize the dramatically increasing of synthetic fibres usage and develop materials that can exceeded the ability of the synthetics fibres. This is in consideration of achievable outcomes, such as low-cost production, high sustainability, low hazard manufacturing, and the presence of renewable resources [1-3]. Implementation of natural fibres as the reinforcement composite has attracted much interest in displacing conventional reinforcement materials. Recently, composites are considered as important engineering materials that are frequently incorporated due to their outstanding physical, mechanical and thermal properties. Manuscript received June 9, 2018; revised April 10, 2019. They include high stiffness and strength to weight ratio, good fatigue, outstanding corrosion resistance, and dimensional stability. These materials are widely applied in many branches of the industry, including the commercial automotive and automation industry [4-5]. A relatively high demand for fabrication of modified laminated composites through tailored microstructures exists since the outcomes are strongly dependent on the characteristics of their constituent materials, distribution, and the interaction among their structures. These composites are built to overcome the weakness of the properties and fulfil the requirements so as to cope with the synthetic fibre properties. Nevertheless, during the operations of product application, one may encounter an exposure to impact relatively from small, as the low-energy object that can lead to damage laminate structures and consequently a significant reduction of the structure [6-9]. Generally, the effect of low-velocity impact damage is determined through impact velocity and energy absorption in fibrous composites. Therefore, this research aims to explore the potential of natural fibres in working with high- performance Kevlar aramid fibre to absorb energy from penetrative impact and investigate the after-effect of the test. Thus, further investigation is done to determine the performance of coconut coir hybrid composite. II. LITERATURE REVIEW Coir fibres suit the requirements as the experimental specimen for several engineering applications [10]. Many researchers have conducted numerous studies on the mechanical properties of coir reinforced composite materials, such as between epoxy/coir fibre composites and coir fibre/sawdust from the utilisation of coir fibre reinforced with epoxy hybrid composites [11]. Coir fibre has also gained scholarly attention due to excellent energy absorption attributes and have become one of the most ductile materials known [12]. Composites that comprehend a strong load-carrying material are known as reinforcement. The position and orientation of the reinforcement are maintained by the International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research Vol. 8, No. 3, May 2019 © 2019 Int. J. Mech. Eng. Rob. Res 368 doi: 10.18178/ijmerr.8.3.368-373 Email: