Investigation of moisture absorption and mechanical properties of natural /glass fiber reinforced polymer hybrid composites

The importance of natural fiber reinforced composites is rapidly developing both in terms of engineering application and research field. These natural fibers are completely renewable, environmental friendly, high specific strength, non-abrasive, low cost, biodegradability. Hence the objective of this research work is to determine the moisture absorption test in media like normal water, bore water, distilled water and sea water and mechanical tests of hybrid composites such as flexural strength and impact strength using static test methods as per ASTM standards. The laminates used for the current study was fabricated by hand layup technique. Coconut coir fiber and glass fiber used as reinforcement and epoxy used as a matrix. Composites are prepared with different percentage of volume fraction. The result from the investigation indicates that incorporation of coconut coir and glass fiber laminate can improve strength and used as an alternate material for glass fiber reinforced composites material. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of International Conference on Advanced Materials and Applications (ICAMA 2016).