Effect of fibre alignment on mechanical properties of natural fibre reinforced polymer composites

The effect of alignment of natural fibres on the mechanical behavior of flax and jute fibre / epoxy composites was investigated in the present work. The epoxy composites were prepared using the compression moulding technique. To explore the variation in composite laminate properties, three composite laminates were prepared based on the fibre-orientation angle. The composite laminates produced having undergone mechanical characterization such as tensile, flexural and water absorption analysis. The test specimens were prepared to carry out the mechanical testing according to ASTM requirements. The findings of the density test showed that L2 composite laminate had maximum density and L3 composite laminate had minimum density. The results of the mechanical test indicated the highest tensile strength for L1 and L3 composite laminates and L2 composite laminate showed the maximum flexural strength. L1 composite laminate reported maximum water absorption percentage, and L2 composite laminate showed minimum water absorption percentage.