Tensile, flexural and interlaminar shear properties of woven jute and jute-glass fabric reinforced polyester composites

Effect of stacking sequence on tensile, flexural and interlaminar shear properties of untreated woven jute and glass fabric reinforced polyester hybrid composites has been investigated experimentally. Laminates were fabricated by hand lay-up technique in a mold and cured under light pressure for 1 h, followed by curing at room temperature for 48 h. All the laminates were made with a total of 10 plies, by varying the number and position of glass layers so as to obtain six different stacking sequences. One group of all jute laminate was also fabricated for comparison purpose. Total fibre weight fraction was maintained at 42%. Specimen preparation and testing was carried out as per ASTM standards. Tests were conducted on MTS 810 Material Test System at room temperature using automatic data acquisition software Test Works-II. The results indicated that the properties of jute composites can be considerably improved by incorporation of glass fibre as extreme glass plies. The layer sequence has greater effect on flexural and interlaminar shear properties than tensile properties. An overall comparison between the properties of all the laminates revealed that the hybrid laminate with two extreme glass plies on either side is the optimum combination with a good balance between the properties and cost.