International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET)

Volume 10, Issue 02, February 2019, pp. 407-417, Article ID: IJMET_10_02_043
Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijmet/issues.asp?JType=IJMET&VType=10&IType=2
ISSN Print: 0976-6340 and ISSN Online: 0976-6359

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

COMPARISON OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

FOR CARBON, E-GLASS AND HYBRID
(CARBON & E-GLASS) COMPOSITES
Rajasekhar Vangala, Dr. M Devaiah*, N Rajendar and K Raju
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Geethanjali College Of Engineering and Technology,
Cheeryal(V), Keesara (M),Medchal District-501301-Telangana State, India.
*Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT
Hybrid polymer composites are the materials made by combining two or more
different type of fibers in a matrix. Hybrid polymer composite material offers the
designer to obtain the required properties in a controlled considerable extent by the
choice of fibers and matrix. The properties are tailored in the material by selecting
different kinds of fiber incorporated in the same resin matrix. They offer wide range of
properties that cannot be obtained with a single type of reinforcement. Due to its high
specific strengths, high specific modulus, low densities, light weight etc. based on its
applications. Presently they are playing a vital role in aerospace, defence, transport,
sport applications. Worldwide researches are keenly interested in finding out their
behavior in real life exposed to various environmental conditions, variety of loads etc.
In this paper, We fabricated carbon, e-glass and hybrid composites by using hand
layup technique in uni-directional orientation with epoxy as a matrix material and
conducted various tests such as tensile, compression on Universal Testing Machine
(UTM) and hardness. The results are validated with FEA and observed that Al-6061-
T6 which is used in manufacturing of military aircraft landing mats, truck bodies and
frames etc. has a tensile strength of about 310.25Mpa.The tensile strength of hybrid
fiber is 341Mpa which is higher than Al 6061-T6. We have compared the
experimental results with ansys results and found that the experimental values are
very close to the ansys results. But when compared within the fibers carbon fiber
exhibited more strength when compared to other fibers
Keywords: Polymer composites, Hybrid polymer, Carbon fibers, E-glass, Hand layup.
Cite this Article: Rajasekhar Vangala, Dr. M Devaiah, N Rajendar and K Raju,
Comparison of Mechanical Properties for Carbon, E-Glass and Hybrid (Carbon & E-
Glass) Composites, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology,
10(2), 2019, pp. 407-417.
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 Comparison of Mechanical Properties for Carbon, E-Glass and Hybrid (Carbon & E-Glass)
Composites

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. FABRICATION OF HYBRID COMPOSITE MATERIAL
The choice of fabrication process depends on the type of matrix and fibers, the temperature
required to form the part and to cure the matrix, and the cost effectiveness of the process
.Often, the fabrication process is the initial consideration in the design of a composite
structure. This is because of cost, production volume, production rate, and adequacy of a
manufacturing process to produce the type of structure desired. Each fabrication process
imposes particular limitations on the structural design. Therefore, the designer needs to
understand the advantages, limitations, costs, production rates and volumes, and typical uses
of various fabrication processes.
There are some of the fabrications processes for preparing composite material. They are
Wet lay-up process, Vacuum big molding, Pressure bag molding, Autoclave molding, Resin
transfer molding (RTM) and Filament winding process
In this we have chosen wet layup process because large parts with complex geometries
can be produced, minimal equipment investment, parts requiring excellent finish can be easily
manufactured.

1.2. WET LAY-UP PROCESS

The wet lay-up technique, also called hand lay-up, is the simplest and most widely used
manufacturing process as shown in figure 3.1(a). Basically, it involves manual placement of
the dry reinforcements in the mold and subsequent application of the resin. Then, the wet
composite is rolled using to facilitate uniform resin distribution and removal of air. This
process is repeated until the desired thickness is reached. The layered structure is then cured.
The emission of volatiles, such as styrene, is high as in any other open mold method. The
hand lay-up process may be divided into four basic steps: mold preparation, gel coating, lay-
up, and curing.
The mold preparation is one of the crucial steps in the lay-up process.. Molds made of
composites are mostly used for low volume production since they do not respond well to
repeated use. A coating of release agent i.e. wapox gel, is applied to the mold plate to provide
a good surface finish to the product.

Figure 1.1 hand layup method.

Now the fiber is cut into required shape in required orientation and resin is mixed with
hardner in a proportion. A coat of laminating resin is applied on the mould plate with a brush
or a roller. The first layer is glass fiber followed by glass rowing with epoxy resin between
them. In this way three layers are arranged until the required thickness is achieved.
The resin used is epoxy matrix mixed with hardener proportionately is applied between
the layers to provide a better surface finish. The chopped fiber strand mat or cloth and fiber
roving are taken and placed alternatively on the mould plate with epoxy matrix between them

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 Rajasekhar Vangala, Dr. M Devaiah, N Rajendar and K Raju

in case of both carbon and e-glass fiber, but in case of hybrid composite firstly carbon is
placed then carbon roving followed by e-glass fiber and e-glass roving and so on with epoxy
matrix between them until the required specimen size is obtained.
The hand rollers used are ceramic rollers with are rolled along the fiber length with a
certain pressure so that to ensure that the air trapped between them is removed. Then they are
placed aside for curing followed by cutting the mould into required specimen sizes according
to ASTM standards.

1.2.1. MATERIALS USED

The materials used for preparing hybrid composites are: Carbon fiber, E-glass fiber, Epoxy
matrix and Hardener

1.3. CARBON FIBER REINFORCED POLYMER COMPOSITES

Carbon is high-performance fiber material that is most commonly used in reinforcement in
advanced polymer-matrix composites. The carbon fiber of uni-directional orientation is shown
in figure 1.2 The reasons for this are as follows:
1. Carbon fibers have highest specific modulus and specific strength of all reinforcing
fiber materials.
2. Their retain their high tensile modulus and high strength at elevated temperatures;
high-temperatures oxidation, however, may be a problem.
3. At room temperature, carbon fibers are not affected by moisture or a wide variety of
solvents, acids, and bases

Figure 1.2 fabricated carbon fiber Figure 1.3 Fabricated e-glass fiber

1.3.1. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CARBON FIBERS

It is a 8HSatin Woven Carbon Fabric
 Density (g/cm3):- 1.8, Filament Diameter (um):- 7, Tensile Strength (MPa);- 3450
 Elongation (%):- 1.5

1.4. GLASS FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITES

Fiber glass is simply a composite consist of glass fibers, either continuous or dis-continuous,
contained within a polymer matrix. This type of composites is produced in largest quantities.
Glass fiber i.e. shown in figure 1.3 is popular as a fiber reinforcement material for several
reasons:
1. It is easily drawn into high strength fiber form the molten state.
2. It is readily available and may be fabricated into a glass-reinforced plastic
economically using a wide variety of composite-manufacturing techniques
3. When coupled with the various plastics, it possesses a chemical inertness that renders
the composite used in a variety of corrosive environments.

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 Comparison of Mechanical Properties for Carbon, E-Glass and Hybrid (Carbon & E-Glass)
Composites

1.4.1. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF EGLASS FIBERS: It is a E-Glass plain Weave

Fabric
 Density (g/cm3):- 2.62, Filament Diameter (um):- 7, Tensile Strength (MPa);- 3100
 Elongation (%):- 4.8

1.5. PREPARION OF HYBRID COMPOSITES

Hand layup method is employed for the fabrication of the hybrid composites as it is the
simplest process , requires low investment, higher operating skills and any type of fiber can
be easily moulded.
The hand layup process starts with the application of gel coating i.e. waxpol gel to the
mould plate to reduce the difficulty while removing the specimens.

Figure 1.4 Waxpol gel. Figure 1.5 E-glass fiber, carbon fiber, hybrid fiber.
The fiber i.e. carbon and e-glass fabric is chopped into required size in uni-directional
orientation and are placed layer by layer until required thickness is obtained.
A coat of laminating resin i.e. a mixture of resin with hardener proportionately mixed
thoroughly is applied by a brush or a roller on the fabric. In case of carbon fiber the first layer
is carbon fiber followed by carbon roving are arranged simultaneously until required
thickness is achieved. The same is in the case of glass fiber i.e. first layer is e-glass fiber
followed by glass roving and so on until the required thickness is obtained. But in the case of
hybrid fiber, the first layer is carbon fiber followed by carbon roving and the second layer is
glass fibers along with glass roving are arranged.
The laminating resin is applied to the reinforcements every time so that all trapped air can
be forced out using roller.
Once finished, the mould is allowed to cure for about 2-3 days for better results and later
remove the product from the mould and proceed for trimming or cutting as per required
dimensions according to ASTM standards.

1.5.1. FABRICATION DETAILS

 For carbon fiber, 4 layers of carbon fiber and 4 layers of carbon roving i.e. eight layers
of size (450x150mm)
 For e-glass fiber, 4 layers of glass fiber and 4 layers of glass roving i.e. eight layers of
size (450x150mm)
 For hybrid, glass fiber, glass roving, carbon fiber and carbon roving each 2 layers i.e.
eight layers of size (450x150mm).
 Resin of 200gm for each fiber and Hardener 20gm.

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 Rajasekhar Vangala, Dr. M Devaiah, N Rajendar and K Raju

2. EXPERIMENTATION
2.1. TENSILE TEST ON COMPOSITE SPECIMEN
The composite materials that are fabricated is cut into Length:-300mm, Width: - 25mm,
Thickness: - 3mm dimension using a saw cutter and the surface finishing is given by using
emery paper for mechanical testing. The tensile test specimen is prepared according to the
ASTM D3039 standard. The dimensions, gauge length and cross-head speeds are chosen
according to the ASTM D3039 slandered.
A tensile test involves mounting the specimen in a machine and subjecting it to the
tension. The testing process involves placing the test specimen in the testing machine and
applying tension to it until it fractures. The tensile force is recorded as a function of the
increase in gauge length. During the application of tension the elongation of the gauge section
is recorded against the applied force.

Figure 2.1 Tensile test specimens after test.

2.2. COMPRESSION TEST ON COMPOSITE SPECIMEN

The compression specimen Length:- 125mm, Width:- 25mm ,Thickness:-3mm is prepared as
per the ASTM D3410 standard. A compression test involves mounting the specimen in
universal testing machine and subjecting it to the compressive force until it fractures. The
compressive force is recorded as a function of displacement. During the application of
compression, the change in the gauge section is recorded against the applied force.

Figure 2.2 Composite Fibers specimens before testing

Figure 2.3 Composite Fiber specimens after testing.

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 Comparison of Mechanical Properties for Carbon, E-Glass and Hybrid (Carbon & E-Glass)
Composites

2.3. HARDNESS TEST ON COMPOSITE SPECIMEN

The hardness specimen of Length:- 25mm, Width:-25mm and Thickness: - 4mm is prepared
according to the ASTM standards. The hardness test is carried out with Shore-A hardness
tester. The hardness value is determined by the penetration of the durometer indenter foot into
the sample, the measurements were carried out on samples in accordance with the standard by
applying on different positions.

Figure 2.3 Hardness test specimens.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1. Tensile test results
The specimen size used is 230*40*3mm. The specimen samples are tested under universal
testing machine (UTM) .The test sample is securely held by top and bottom grips attached to
the tensile or universal testing machine. During the tension test, the grips are moved apart at a
constant rate to pull and stretch the specimen. The force on the specimen and its displacement
is continuously monitored and plotted on a stress-strain curve until failure. Load-displacement
curve is plotted for the determination of ultimate tensile strength and elastic modulus. This
test is conducted for carbon fiber, e-glass fiber and hybrid composite and results are compared
with each other. The ultimate tensile strength of hybrid composite is 341.554 N/ .

3.2. COMPRESSIVE TEST RESULTS

The specimen size for compression test is 125x25x3mm. The specimens are tested for their
compressive strength under universal testing machine (UTM). The results are obtained in a
graphical form from the UTM. We have tested three specimens under certain loads and the
results are shown below. The compressive strength carbon fiber is 31.080 N/ .The
compressive strength of e-glass fiber is 12.312 N/
The compressive strength of hybrid fiber is 21.211 N/

3.3 HARDNESS TEST RESULTS:

The specimen size for hardness test is 25x25x3mm. The specimen is tested with shore
hardness tester. The hardness of carbon fiber when tested is 80 Shore-A, for E-glass fiber is
90 Shore -A and for hybrid fiber is 80 Shore-A.

Table 1 Details of different strength values of different composites

S.N Compression Tensile Strength
Composites Hardness
o Strength (N/mm2) (N/mm2)
1 Carbon Fiber 31.080 354.922 80
2 E-Glass Fiber 12.312 217.445 90
3 Hybrid( carbon & E Glass) Fiber 21.211 314.554 80

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 Rajasekhar Vangala, Dr. M Devaiah, N Rajendar and K Raju

Figure 2.4 Graphs shows comparision of compression strength, tensile strength and hardness with
carbon, E-glass and Hybrid composites.

4. VALIDATION OF EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS OF CARBON, E-

GLASS AND HYBRID COMPOSITES USING ANSYS
The specimens were designed in AutoCAD according to the ASTM standards and static
analysis for compression for carbon, e-glass and hybrid fibers is done in Ansys and the
design and analytical results are shown below. The analysis of composites is done by
Ansys(workbench) 18.2 software.
All the obtained results of total deformation, tensile and compression are shown in a
following table.
Compression Tensile Strength
S.No Composites Strength(N/mm2) by (N/mm2) by FEA
FEA Software Software
1 Carbon Fiber 42.113 365.46
2 E-Glass Fiber 12.67 222.69
Hybrid( carbon & E
3 22.90 392.99
Glass) Fiber
The following figures are showing the results obtained from FEA software which are total
deformation, tensile strength and compression strengths of carbon, E-glass and hybrid fibers
composite.

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 Comparison of Mechanical Properties for Carbon, E-Glass and Hybrid (Carbon & E-Glass)
Composites

Figure 2.5 Shows (a) Carbon fiber composite meshed model in Ansys (b) shown when load applied
(c) Total deformation of carbon fiber is 7.3313e-5 m.

Figure 2.6 (a) Von-Mises stress for carbon fiber: Figure.(b) Total deformation of E-glass fiber is
5.993e-5 m.

Figure 2.7 (a) Von-Mises stress of E-glass fiber is 12.67N/mm2 Figure 2.7 (b)Total deformation of
hybrid fiber is 5.60e-5 m.

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 Rajasekhar Vangala, Dr. M Devaiah, N Rajendar and K Raju

Figure 2.7(c) Von-mises stress of hybrid fiber is 22.90 N/mm2.

Figure 2.8(a) total deformation of carbon fiber is 0.67595mm. Figure 2.8(b) von-mises stress of
carbon fiber is 365.46Mpa.

Figure 2.9 (a) total deformation of e-glass fiber is 0.0011456 m. Figure 2.9(b) von -mises stress of
E-glass fiber is 222.69 N/mm2

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 Comparison of Mechanical Properties for Carbon, E-Glass and Hybrid (Carbon & E-Glass)
Composites

Figure 3.0 (a) Total deformation of hybrid fiber is 0.0010352 m Figure 3.0 (b) von-mises stress of
hybrid fiber is 392.99 N/mm2
The following table represents the comparison of the results obtained from UTM
(practical) and FEA software.
Compression Strength(N/mm2) Tensile Strength (N/mm2)
S.No Composites
UTM FEA Software UTM FEA Software
1 Carbon Fiber 31.080 42.113 354.922 365.46
2 E-Glass Fiber 12.312 12.67 217.445 222.69
Hybrid( carbon & E
3 21.211 22.90 314.554 392.99
Glass) Fiber

5. CONCLUSION
In this paper experimental results have been compared with the Ansys results and found that
the experimental values are very close to the ansys results. But when compared within the
fibers, carbon fiber exhibited more strength than the other fibers. It is observed that Al-6061-
T6 which is used in manufacturing of military aircraft landing mats, truck bodies and frames
etc. has a tensile strength of about 310.25Mpa.The tensile strength of hybrid fiber is 341Mpa
which is higher than Al 6061-T6.
Hence the hybrid composite material (carbon and e-glass) may be suggested for
manufacturing of military aircraft landing mats, truck bodies etc. to increase the strength and
durability. Until techniques are introduced to reduce initial implementation costs and address
the issue of non-biodegradability of current composites, this relatively new material will not
be able to completely replace traditional metallic alloys.

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