American Journal of Materials Science 2017, 7(4): 91-94 DOI: 10.5923/j.materials.20170704.04 Mechanical Characterization of Epoxy/ Basalt Fiber/ Flax Fiber Hybrid Composites Susilendra Mutalikdesai * , G. Sujaykumar, Amal Raju, C. J. Moses, Jithin Jose, Vishak Lakshmanan Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yenepoya Institute of Technology, Moodbidri, India Abstract Over the last two three decades composite materials has been used widely in various engineering field. Composite materials possess low weight, corrosion resistance property and specific strength, and due to these facts composite materials are becoming popular among researchers and scientists. Now-a-days, the natural fibers offer the potential to act as a reinforcing material for composites alternative to the use of glass fiber, carbon fiber and other man-made fibers. In present work hybrid composites of Epoxy/basalt fiber/flax fibers were prepared by Hand-layup technique. Mechanical characterization of prepared hybrid composites were carried out. Mechanical results improved mechanical properties for hybrid composites. Mechanical properties increased with increased in basalt fibre content in the flax/basalt fibre hybrid epoxy composites. Keywords Hybrid composite, Natural fibres, Hand lay-up technique, Tensile test, Flexural test, Impact test 1. Introduction A composite is a material made by combining two or more dissimilar materials in such a way that the resultant material is endowed with properties superior to any of its parental ones. Fiber-reinforced composites, owing to their superior properties, are usually applied in different fields like defence, aerospace, engineering applications, sports goods, etc. Now a days a lot of research going on natural fiber composites and they have gained increasing interest due to their eco-friendly properties. Natural fibers such as jute, sisal, silk and coir are inexpensive, abundant and renewable, lightweight, with low density, high toughness, and biodegradable. Natural fibres such as jute, flax, basalt fibres have the potential to be used as a replacement for traditional reinforcement materials in composites for applications which requires high strength to weight ratio and further weight reduction. A huge changeover was reported on the usage of natural fibers all over the world for the production of composites [1-3]. Moreover, natural fibers can be a suitable comparator to synthetic fibers, such as glass, in many ecological characteristics but not in respect of mechanical strength. However, significant improvements in the strength of polymer composites can be achieved while reinforcing natural fibers under different conditions, i.e. by using various chemical treatments on the fibers and hybridization with synthetic fibers. Still, the need for these treatments was * Corresponding author: susilendra@yit.edu.in (Susilendra Mutalikdesai) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/materials Copyright © 2017 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved identified as a lack of strength in these composites compared to other synthetic composites, whereas, weaving of natural fibers in different orientations makes the composites stronger and comparable to those of synthetic fibers [4, 5]. Basalt fibres are continuously extruded from a high temperature melt (around 1500°C) of selected basalt stones (volcanic, over-ground, effusive rocks saturated with 45– 52% silica) [6]. In particular, their similar chemical structure to glass, even though their density is slightly higher (2.8 g/cm 3 compared to 2.54 g/cm 3 of glass), eases such a replacement. Also, the chemical stability of the basalt fibres is higher than that of glass fibres, especially in an acidic environment [7]. This characteristic allows basalt fibres to more effectively binding to sizing agents, such as organ silanes, resulting in the need for a reduced amount of these chemicals with respect to glass fibres [8]. Even more than glass, basalt fibres can be used in a wide range of temperatures, from 200°C to 600°C [9]. Flax, one of the types of natural fibres with a good mechanical characteristics, has been widely used to produce composites. Unlike artificial fibres, flax fibres are not continuous fibres but they have a composite like hierarchically organized structure. Their macroscopic properties emerge from their micro and nano-structural level. The morphology of the fibres shows similarities and composites produced using them show similar properties. The industrially important flax fibres are placed as fibre bundles in the outer surface of the plant stem. The bundles (technical fibres) are between 60 and 140 cm long and their diameter ranges from 40 to 80 µm. The flax stem contains 20-50 bundles in their cross section. Each bundle consists of 10-40 spindle shaped single fibres of 1-12 cm length and