Enhancement of mechanical properties of flax-epoxy composite with carbon fibre hybridisation for lightweight applications

The effect of unidirectional (UD) carbon fibre hybridisation on the tensile properties of flax fibre epoxy composite was investigated. Composites containing different fibre ply orientations were fabricated using vacuum infusion with a symmetrical ply structure of 0/+45/−45/90/90/−45/+45/0. Tensile tests were performed to characterise the tensile performance of plain flax/epoxy, carbon/flax/epoxy, and plain carbon/epoxy composite laminates. The experimental results showed that the carbon/flax fibre hybrid system exhibited significantly improved tensile properties over plain flax fibre composites, increasing the tensile strength from 68.12 MPa for plain flax/epoxy composite to 517.66 MPa (670% increase) and tensile modulus from 4.67 GPa for flax/epoxy to 18.91 GPa (305% increase) for carbon/flax hybrid composite. The failure mechanism was characterised by examining the fractured surfaces of tensile tested specimens using environmental scanning electron microscopy (E-SEM). It was evidenced that interactions between hybrid ply interfaces and strain to failure of the reinforcing fibres were the critical factors for governing tensile properties and failure modes of hybrid composites.