Mechanical testing of hybrid natural flax/jute fibre reinforced composite

This study explores the influence of hybridisation on the mechanical properties of the flax and jute fibre reinforced hybrid composite. The effect of stacking sequence due to the hybridisation had been explored during mechanical tests, viz., tensile and flexural. The hybridisation is done using a combination of jute and flax fibre materials, and stacking sequence was produced by the positioning of reinforcing material for a specific amount of fibre. In this work, two hybridisation ratio (flax/jute) were explored and stacking sequences for balanced hybridisation ratio were taken for tensile and flexural testing. From the results, it is possible to establish that tensile strength improves with the hybridisation of flax in jute, whereas greater flexural strength was obtained with more jute in hybridisation. Balanced hybridisation with top-layer flax fibres gives better tensile and flexural strength. Further, the fracture surfaces of the tested specimens that were examined after testing to investigate the nature of failure during the testing process.