EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON CHARPY IMPACT TOUGHNESS OF JUTE FABRIC REINFORCED SANDWICH COMPOSITES: BALSA VS. XPS CORES

This study experimentally investigates the Charpy impact characteristics of sandwich composites comprising jute fabric reinforced epoxy face sheets with two distinct core materials: natural balsa wood and synthetic Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) foam. The composite panels were fabricated using a hand lay-up technique followed by hot-press consolidation. Three configurations were tested according to ISO 179-1 standards: monolithic jute laminate, Jute/Balsa/Jute, and Jute/XPS/Jute sandwich structures. The results demonstrated that the core material significantly governs the impact response and energy absorption capacity. The balsa-core sandwich composite exhibited the highest average impact toughness (1.99 J), absorbing 184% more energy than the monolithic jute laminate (0.70 J) and approximately 90% more than the XPS-core configuration (1.05 J). Fractographic analysis revealed that balsa-core specimens underwent ductile failure mechanisms, including fiber pull-out and matrix deformation, whereas XPS-core specimens exhibited brittle fracture with limited energy dissipation. These findings highlight the potential of balsa-cored natural fiber composites for sustainable, lightweight, and impact-resistant structural applications.