Fracture Behavior of Nano Particle Reinforced Sisal Fiber Composites using Analytical and Experimental Methods

Abstract

Sisal fiber reinforced composites are being replaced with manmade composites as these materials are difficult to manufacture and non biodegradable. On the other hand, the natural fiber reinforced composites such as sisal fiber reinforced composites shows less strength compared to manmade composites. The objective of the present work is to explore the mechanical properties of sisal fiber composites and hybrid sisal composites using analytical and experimental methods. The sisal composites and hybrid sisal composites are prepared by using hand layup techniques. The hybrid composites are prepared by reinforcing nano carbon powder and sisal fibers in a polymer matrix with the weight fraction of 9% of carbon powder and 50% of sisal fiber. The elastic modulus of polymer matrix with carbon powder reinforcement and polymer matrix, carbon powder and sisal fiber reinforced composites are identified by conducting suitable experiments. Later by using the finite element method, the fracture behavior of sisal fiber composites and hybrid composites are estimated. The energy released (ER) and energy required to create the surface (ES) are estimated to identify the critical crack length of the respective material. The present work is used for the design of sisal fiber composites with respect to young’s modulus and fracture response.