Mohit H, Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa, Femiana Gapsari, Suchart Siengchin, Hadi M. Marwani, Anish Khan, Abdullah M. Asiri
The hybridization of plant cellulose fillers in polymeric laminates is applied in different applications because of several benefits. The present investigation deals with the fabrication of four other eight-layer laminates by reinforcing bio fillers (coir, sisal, and hemp), Titanium carbide (TiC) nanoparticles, and ranging the stacking sequence of synthetic fabrics (carbon, Kevlar, Basalt, and Innegra) with bio/synthetic epoxy from wet layup technique. The fabricated laminate's characteristics were appraised by examining density, porosity, water absorption, flexural, impact strength, shore hardness, and thermal stability. It was observed from the experimental outcomes that the 3F8LTSE (Sisal, hemp, coir fillers, 2 layers of Carbon, Kevlar, Basalt, Innegra fabrics, and Titanium carbide reinforced synthetic epoxy) composite exhibited higher mechanical characteristics with a higher flexural strength (312.58 MPa), impact strength (35.13 kJ/m2), and shore D hardness (84.95), and decreased water absorption capacity by justifying its adequate for lightweight structures. The scanning electron microscope displayed the fiber pull out, debonding, and dispersion of fillers within the matrix of the composite. The current study also evaluates the prediction and performance of the artificial neural network (ANN) to model the physical, mechanical and thermal characteristics of bio/synthetic epoxy hybrid composites. However, the ANN model was more precise and proved that it is a primary method to optimize the properties of the fabricated bio/synthetic epoxy laminate. © 2023 The Authors
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Alliance College of Engineering and Design, Alliance University, Bengaluru, 562106, India; Natural Composites Research Group Lab, Department of Materials and Production Engineering, The Siridhorn International Thai German Graduate School of Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangkok, Thailand; Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Brawijaya University, MT Haryono 167, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia