Effect of stacking sequence and silicon carbide nanoparticles on properties of carbon/glass/Kevlar fiber reinforced hybrid polymer composites

Synthetic fibers as reinforcement in composites are inevitable in today's composite industry due to its exceptional mechanical properties. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of stacking sequence of carbon, glass and Kevlar bidirectional (0 degrees/90 degrees) woven mat synthetic fibers reinforced in epoxy matrix composite with silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles as filler material on mechanical and visco-elastic behavior of developed novel hybrid polymer matrix composites (HPMCs). Vacuum bag infusion method is adopted to manufacture the composite specimens by stacking carbon, glass and Kevlar fibers alternatively with six layers and six different stacking sequences and tested as per ASTM standards. Tensile, flexural, impact and hardness test is conducted to identify the composite specimen with maximum mechanical characteristics. The maximum tensile and flexural strength of 398.178 and 671.25 MPa respectively is seen for the composite with strong fibers such as carbon and glass stacked away from the neutral axis. Also, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of tensile and flexural failure specimen revealed the failure mechanisms of developed composite specimens. Moreover, the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed the visco-elastic behavior of developed composites with glass transition temperature (T-g) at 115 degrees C. This study emphasizes the influence of stacking sequence on thermo-mechanical properties of the developed HPMC specimens and explores its potential for diverse applications.