Development and characterisation of novel functionally graded hybrid of carbon-glass fibres

Abstract

Functionally graded hybrid (FH) laminates are developed using carbon and glass fibres dispersed layer wise in proportions throughout the laminate. The properties of the FH laminate have been evaluated under tensile, compressive, and flexural loading conditions and are compared with sandwich and alternate hybrid laminates. Two types of FH specimens are fabricated, one with glass fibre in the core and the other with carbon fibre in the core among which specimens with glass fibres embedded in the core region performed better in terms of strength and stiffness. Analytical equations are developed based on the power law and the results obtained are in good agreement with experimental results. It has been concluded that FH laminates have better performance in tension and compression. Therefore, it is noteworthy that FH laminates can replace conventional hybrids as far as uniaxial tensile or compressive strength is concerned.