Paper Title
In-Plane Damage Analysis of Hybrid Kevlar/Flax/Epoxy Composites
Abstract
Natural fibers have recently seen a rise in popularity due to their low cost, biodegradability and relatively
comparable properties to traditional (i.e. synthetic) fibers. While they are limited in their usage in today’s industry because
of some disadvantages such as their high water absorption rate, and incompatibility with hydrophobic matrices, hybridization
can be utilized to improve their properties, while maintaining low cost and environmental impact. This study aims at
analyzing and characterizing the damaged response of flax fibers combined with Kevlar weaved fibers in a sandwich
structure. To investigate the stiffness and inelasticity evolution, test specimens were subjected to multiple load-unload
sequences at progressively increasing maximum loads until failure. The test results show that damage evolution is not always
proportional to loading or inelastic strain accumulation. Reported data show that hybridization offers significant reductions
in damage and inelasticity accumulation, and can be further implemented into the industry for general engineering
applications.
Keywords- Kevlar/Flax, Hybrid, Damage, Stiffness