Synthesis & Characterization of Cotton Fiber Reinforced Epoxy-CNSL Hybrid Resin Composite Material

Introduction: The natural fibers in composite materials have grown significantly in recent years, mainly because of their outstanding environmental benefits like recyclability, renewability, and biodegradability. The paper is interested in the experimental study of hybrid composites mechanical characteristics. The hybrid composites are strengthened with cotton fibers and hybrid resin matrix with cashew nut shell liquid and epoxy. For optimum hybridization to improve the CNSL epoxy IPN interpenetrating network, enhanced mechanical properties of the composite were used. Five hybrid composite samples were prepared using different weight percentages of cotton fibers, from 0 to 40%, and the samples underwent impact, flexural, and tensile strength testing. Sample 5 with 40 wt% cotton fibers showed the highest tensile strength of all and had an improvement of 8.3% over other samples. The increase resulted from higher adhesion of fibers in the matrix as well as distribution of stress through the formation of IPN. With cotton fiber concentration enhancement, the flexural strength is enhanced to 35% because of the hybrid resin's capacity to absorb energy under load circumstances. Impact testing demonstrated a 40 wt% increase in absorbed energy for composite 40 wt% cotton fiber materials, clearly demonstrating the synergistic effect of hybrid matrix systems on strength and impact toughness. Hybridization of cotton fibers with CNSL and epoxy resins seems to offer a real innovative route toward the achievement of lightweight, high-strength composites that can be used in structural, aeronautical, and automotive applications.