XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] Original Article Mechanical performance of woven kenaf-Kevlar hybrid composites Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 0(0) 1–13 ! The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0731684414559864 jrp.sagepub.com R Yahaya1,2, SM Sapuan1,3,4, M Jawaid3,5, Z Leman1 and ES Zainudin1,3 Abstract Hybrid composites offer a combination of advantages of constituent components to produce a material with determined properties. In the present work, woven hybrid composite was prepared by hand lay-up method in laminate configuration. Kevlar/kenaf hybrid composites were fabricated with total fibre content of 30% and the ratio of Kevlar/kenaf varies in weight fraction of 78/22, 60/40, 50/50, 26/74, and 32/68, respectively. The Kevlar/epoxy and kenaf/epoxy were also prepared for comparison. The mechanical properties of hybrid, kenaf/epoxy, and Kevlar/epoxy composites were tested. Morphological properties of tensile fracture surface of hybrid composites were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Results have established that the mechanical properties of kenaf-Kevlar hybrid composites are a function of fibre content. The hybrid composites with Kevlar/kenaf (78/22) ratio exhibited better mechanical properties compared to other hybrid composites. This result indicates the potential of Kevlar-kenaf hybrid composite for impact applications. Keywords Woven kenaf, Kevlar, hybrid composites, mechanical properties Introduction Fibre reinforced polymer composites have been intensively used in various industries such as aerospace, marine, transportation, and defence because of their advantages in terms of strength and stiffness. Nowadays, there are trends in our society towards natures concern. Researchers also show their interest in using nature-friendly materials in fibre reinforced polymer composites. Natural fibres reinforced polymer materials have been used in different applications. Fibres like pinus, sisal, flax, hibiscus sabdariffa, jute, etc. have all been proved to be good reinforcements in thermoset and thermoplastic matrices.1,2 Innovative research was also conducted on other natural fibres such as saccaharum cilliare fibres,3 pine needle,4 durian skin,5 water hyacinth fibres,6 and many more. The use of natural fibres as renewable materials in polymer matrix composites will reduce the synthetic petroleum-based fibres, thus preserving the natural resources and the world as a whole.7 Natural fibres have many advantages over synthetic fibres such as biodegradable, low weight, low cost, and acceptable properties. Natural fibres are now considered serious alternative to synthetic fibres for use in various fields.8,9 Thakur and Thakur10 in their review highlighted the advantages natural fibre reinforced polymer composites such as the easy process, eco-friendly, and environmental awareness which encourage the use of natural fibres. The recent advances and progress in application of lignin as bio-renewable polymers was thoroughly reviewed in Thakur et al.11 Thakur et al.12 reviewed 1 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence (STRIDE), Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia 3 Laboratory of Biocomposite Technology, Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest Products (INTROP), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 4 Aerospace Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 5 Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Corresponding author: SM Sapuan, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Email: [email protected] Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] 2 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 0(0) the mechanical properties of raw natural fibre-polymer matrix composites. They concluded that the natural fibre-based polymer composite offers a number of advantages over synthetic fibres such as glass fibre, aramid fibres, and carbon fibre. However, the disadvantages of natural fibres as reported in Khalil et al.13 among others are low modulus, low strength, and poor moisture resistance compared to synthetic fibre composites. Hybridization, a process of incorporating synthetic fibres with that of natural fibres in order to yield a hybrid composite with a comparable strength, stiffness, strength-to-weight ratio, impact resistance, and other physical and mechanical properties. This type of hybridization will lead to benefits like reduction of synthetic fibres consumption, less process energy, and concurrently materialised green initiative towards a better environment. In synthetic–natural fibres hybrid composites, most of the research works aim to reduce the use of synthetic fibres. Among the research in synthetic–natural fibres hybrid is oil palm/glass,13 pineapple/glass,14 sisal/carbon,15 jute/glass,16 sisal/glass,17 kenaf/glass,18 and sugar palm/glass.19 Properties of kenaf hybrid composites depend on many factors such as type of fibres (fibre structure– single fibre, long fibre, random non-woven or woven structure).20 Based on literature study, only limited studies are available in woven fabric composites. Zhang et al.21 studied the tensile behaviour of carbon-glass/ epoxy hybrid composites. Gujjala et al.16 studied the mechanical properties of woven jute–glass hybrid-reinforced epoxy composite. Pothan et al.22 investigated the tensile and flexural behaviour of woven sisal fabric/ polyester textile composites effect of weaving pattern. It was found that the matt type of woven composite has better mechanical properties than plain and twill types due to resin permeability. Khan et al.23 studied the mechanical properties of woven jute fabric reinforced poly(l-lactic acid) composites. It was reported that woven jute structure exhibited excellent mechanical behaviour under tensile, flexural, and impact loadings compared to non-woven composite. This result was related to the fibre interlocking in weaving structure that increases the strength of the composites and the fibres attached together tightly in weaved structure. Physical and mechanical properties of hybrid composite determine the effectiveness of hybridization. Jawaid et al.24 studied the mechanical (tensile, flexural, impact) and physical (hardness, water absorption, and thickness swelling) properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch/glass hybrid reinforced polyester composites. The study shows that the hybrid composites exhibited good properties compared to the EFB/polyester composites. Mechanical property analysis of woven treated/ untreated woven jute and glass fabric was carried out by Ahmed et al.25 Amico et al.26 investigated the effect of stacking sequence on mechanical properties of sisal/ glass fibre composites and found that the flexural properties of the hybrid composite increases when sisal fibre is stacked between glass fibre layers. Khanam et al.15 carried out experiment on the physical properties of sisal–polypropylene. Properties studied in the work are tensile, flexural, and chemical resistance of the composite. Saw et al.27 studied the effect of jute fibre hybridization and different layering pattern on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of jute/ bagasse hybrid fibre-reinforced epoxy novolac composites. They conclude that jute–bagasse hybrid fibre-reinforced epoxy novolac composites could find potential applications as high-performance engineering materials. Romanzini et al.28 studied the influence of fibre content on the mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of glass/ramie polymer composites. Ramesh et al.29 studied the mechanical properties of sisal-jute-glass fibre reinforced polyester composites. The results indicate that the incorporation of sisaljute fibre improve the properties of the composites. Generally, researchers studied on kenaf composites because it is sustainable and is increasingly being considered as reinforcements for polymer matrix composites.30 The research among others are hybrid kenaf/ glass reinforced epoxy composite for passenger car bumper beam,18 kenaf glass fibre reinforced polypropylene composites, Kenaf/fibrefrax hybrid phenol-formaldehyde,31 kenaf-glass fibres reinforced unsaturated polyester hybrid composite,32 kenaf/PALF-reinforced HDPE composite,33 and rubber toughened polyester/ kenaf composite.34 Limited research involved woven kenaf for examples in Dan-mallam et al.35 and Hani et al.36 Even though research on the usage of natural fibre is widely explored, the usage of natural fibres kenaf in the woven form has not been studied to a great extent. In this study, fabrics obtained from kenaf yarn and commercially available Kevlar-129 has been used as hybrid composite in epoxy resin. The performance of kenaf-Kevlar hybrid composite and the effect of fibre weight fraction composites were evaluated. Materials and methods Materials The woven kenaf fabric was produced by handloom weaving process using kenaf yarns. The properties of kenaf yarn and woven fabrics are as tabulated in Table 1. The chemical composition of fibres used are cellulose 62.6%; hemicellulose 16.8%; lignin 7.83%; and ash 1.66%. The aramid fibre used in this study is Kevlar129, chemical composition of which is poly Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] Yahaya et al. 3 para-phenyleneterephthalamide (PPTA), also known as para-aramid. The polymerization of poly (p-phenylene terephthalate) involves the reaction of an aromatic diamine (p-phenylene diamine) and an aromatic diacid chloride (terephthaloyl chloride in an amide solvent as shown in Figure 1).37 The properties of Kevlar is as shown in Table 2. The matrixes are D.E.R.331 liquid epoxy resin with a density of 1.08 g/m3. The resin was cured using joint amine type (905-3S). Non-silicone mould release agent formula 700-A supplied by Aerosol Specialist Sdn Bhd used prior to fabrication processes. Figure 2 shows the fabric used for kenaf-Kevlar hybrid laminated composite. Fabrication of hybrid composites Hand-lay-up method was adopted to fabricate laminates of Kevlar 129 and woven kenaf in epoxy resin. Woven kenaf and Kevlar fabric were hand lay-up with the epoxy matrix by mixing epoxy resin (DER 331) and amine hardener in the ratio of 2:1 (Figure 3). Two thick mild steel plates are used as a mould (20 20 cm2) in the fabrication process. All the Table 1. Properties of woven kenaf. Properties Woven kenaf Yarn breaking load (N) Fabric tensile strength (MPa) Fabric elongation at break (%) Fabric thickness (mm) 144.3 9.88 15.37 2.878 mould surface was sprayed with a mould release agent to prevent adhesion of composites to the mould after curing and also to ensure smooth sample surface. For each hybrid composites, the volume ratio of matrix of fibre was kept approximately 70:30. The composites were prepared by hand lay-up method in laminate configuration. Kevlar/kenaf hybrid composites were fabricated with total fibre content of 30%. The ratios of Kevlar to kenaf woven were varied to get a range of hybrid ratio of pure Kevlar to a mixture of Kevlar and kenaf, to pure kenaf. As shown in Table 3, the ratio Kevlar/kenaf weight (%) are H1 (78/22), H2 (63/47), H3 (50/50), H4 (26/74), and H5 (32/68). Composites were cured by applying compression pressure using dead weights on the top of the mould and cured at room temperature for 24 hours. After curing the laminated composites were cut into required size for physical and mechanical characterization. After fabrication the density hybrid laminates were measured using the densimeter MD-200 S, Mirage, Table 2. Properties of Kevlar fabric.38 Properties Kevlar 129 Fibre diameter (m) Fibre density (g/cm3) Tensile strength (GPa) Tensile modulus (GPa) Elongation at break (%) Fabric density (per cm) Fabric weight (g/m2) Thickness (mm) 12 1.43 3.4 99 3.3 8.5 190 0.3 Figure 1. Synthesis of PPTA. Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] 4 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 0(0) Figure 2. Woven kenaf and Kevlar fabric. Figure 3. Configuration of composite samples. Table 3. Composition and designation of the composites. Weight of fibres, % Total fibre Sample Thickness (mm) Kevlar Kenaf Weight fraction, % Volume fraction, % H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 All kenaf All Kevlar 5.62 9.50 6.28 11.00 7.78 5.13 2.70 78 63 50 26 32 0 100 22 37 50 74 68 100 0 35.2 37.6 34.6 36.6 34.7 39.3 36.2 29.0 31.4 28.7 30.7 28.9 33.4 29.9 Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] Yahaya et al. 5 according to the ASTM D792 standards. The void content was determined from the theoretical and the experimental density of the composites through equations (1) and (2) tester. Five un-notched samples of dimension 80 mm 10 mm respective thickness from each composition were tested. The energy needed to break the samples and composite toughness can be analysed. theorethical experimental 100% theorethical ð1Þ SEM study. In order to study the morphological feature of the fibre-matrix interface due to mechanical testing the surfaces of the samples were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM; LEO 1430 VPSEM, Carl Zeiss, Germany). Void contents ð%Þ ¼ where theorethical ¼ wf f 1 þ wmm ð2Þ where Wf is the fibre weight fraction, Wm is the matrix weight fraction, f is the fibre density, and m is the matrix density. Experimental procedure Tensile test. Tensile test was conducted to determine the stress–strain behaviour of the Kevlar-kenaf hybrid laminated composite. The test was carried out using Instron 33R 4484 testing machine based on ASTM D 3039 on plates with a size of 250 mm 25 mm sample thickness for each composite. The samples were carefully cut from the laminate using wheel saw and finished to the accurate size. A standard head displacement at a speed of 5 mm/min was applied. For each sample, three specimens were tested and average results were obtained. Flexural test. The flexural test was conducted from 3-point loading using Instron 33R 4484 testing machine according to ASTM D 790. The rectangular samples of dimension 200 mm 10 mm were cut from the laminates using circular saw. The tests were conducted at a crosshead displacement rate of 2 mm/min and the span to depth ratio was 16:1. For each sample, three specimens were tested at room temperature and the average was taken as a final result. Results and discussion Prior to mechanical testing, composite sample was tested for void content based on theoretical and actual density. The density and void content of composites are presented in Table 4. All kenaf and all Kevlar impact properties are also reported for comparison. The stress–strain curve of Kevlar/epoxy, kenaf/ epoxy, and hybrid kenaf-Kevlar hybrid composite were plotted for the determination of ultimate tensile strength and elastic modulus as shown in Figure 4. Table 4. Density and void content of the composites. Samples Density (g/cm3) Void content (%) H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 All Kenaf All Kevlar 1.13 1.12 1.03 1.01 0.88 1.13 1.14 3.15 4.38 5.02 12.98 25.67 15.62 4.55 Interlaminar shear test. The test was performed following ASTM 2344 to determine the interlaminar shear strength of the composites. Samples of 10-mm length and square cross section are loaded under three-point bending at the rate of 2 mm/min. The apparent interlaminar shear strength of composites was determined from ILSS specimens that were tested with a support span/specimen thickness ratio of 5:1. Impact test. The test samples are prepared and tested according to the ASTM D256. The Charpy test was performed on five samples using a pendulum impact Figure 4. Stress–strain curves for kenaf/epoxy, Kevlar/epoxy, and kenaf-Kevlar hybrid composites. Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] 6 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 0(0) The strength of woven kenaf used in this study is as shown in Table 1. The properties of Kevlar fabric were taken from literature as stated accordingly. Tensile properties of the woven kenaf/epoxy, Kevlar epoxy, and Kevlar-kenaf hybrid composites tested are shown in Figure 5. It was observed from Figure 5 that the sample H1 showed a higher tensile strength and modulus; 202 MPa and 3.4 GPa, respectively, compared to other hybrid samples. This is because this sample contained a higher percentage of Kevlar, which are stronger and stiffer than kenaf fibres. Generally, the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of composite decreased as the Kevlar fibre volume fraction decreased in sample H1 to H3. The tensile strength at break of the kenaf/epoxy sample scored around 16 MPa. By adding about 15% w/w of Kevlar as in sample H3, the strength of the composite increased up to 100 MPa. Additional more kenaf content in samples H4 and H5 reduced the tensile properties of the hybrid composites. The increases in Kevlar content in sample H1 and H2 increased the tensile properties of hybrid composite up to 202 MPa. Compared to H3, there are 10% and 20% reduction of kenaf content in H2 and H1 which results in 49% and 100% increase in tensile strength, respectively. An increase of 10% and 20% of kenaf in H5 and H4 reduce about 50% of hybrid composite tensile strength. Similar trend is observed in tensile modulus. The tensile strain at break shows that kenaf/epoxy break at 5.78% strain. The strain values for hybrid composites increased with the increase in Kevlar content in samples H1 and H2, while the value decreases as more kenaf fibres are added except in sample H4. The tensile modulus of composites also improved with Kevlar fibre volume increase in samples H1 and H2. Additional kenaf volume fraction in H4 and H5 compared to sample H3 did not improve the tensile properties of hybrid composite. This may be due to the presence of voids as both the tensile strength and modulus decreased with increasing void content.39 The effect of kenaf fibre content on tensile strength of hybrid composites is analysed and are shown in Figure 6. Tensile properties of composite material are mainly depending on fibre strength and modulus. The experimental results clearly indicate the trend of decrease in tensile strength and tensile modulus as the volume percentage of kenaf increased. Tensile modulus determines the ability of samples to resist deformation. In this case, it shows that samples with kenaf content less than 14.5% resist more to deformation compared to the samples with higher kenaf content. The equal tensile strength and tensile modulus is achieved at the kenaf content of approximately 14.5%. Thickness of samples also influenced the tensile properties of composites. The increase in thickness of laminates tends to decrease the tensile strength. The laminated specimens with lesser thickness lead to more ultimate tensile strength irrespective of fibre orientations.34 The tensile properties of woven kenaf/epoxy composite in this study are 16.46 MPa and 500.1 MPa, respectively. Flexural test was conducted to determine the capability of a material to withstand the bending before reaching the breaking point. The flexural load-extension curves for various hybrid composites, kenaf/epoxy, Figure 5. Tensile properties of composites. Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] Yahaya et al. 7 Figure 6. The effect of kenaf content on tensile properties of hybrid composites. Figure 7. Flexural-load extension curves of composites. and Kevlar/epoxy composites are shown in Figure 7. All the curves indicate non-linear behaviour with the highest maximum load in Kevlar/epoxy composite, followed by the hybrid samples. Kenaf/epoxy is the lowest because of flexural strength and modulus are controlled by the strength of the extreme layers of composite.23 Figure 8 shows the results of the flexural properties for the hybrid composite with different volume fraction of kenaf/Kevlar compared to kenaf/epoxy and Kevlar/ epoxy composites. The results indicated that the kenaf/ epoxy composite recorded the lowest flexural strength and modulus; 6.64 MPa and 3.27 GPa, respectively. This figure clearly shows that the Kevlar-epoxy composites were much more rigid, and stronger, than the kenaf-epoxy. It can be seen that H2 has the highest flexural strength and modulus compared to other hybrid composites. This may be the effect of higher total fibre contents, void content, and fibre-matrix adhesion strength in the samples. In the sample tested, the Kevlar layers were put as outer and it takes more stress compared to woven kenaf. Flexural strength is a combination of the tensile and compressive strengths which directly varies with the interlaminar shear strength, whereas the flexural modulus is a measure of resistance of composites to bending deformation.40 The flexural strength and modulus of the hybrid composites as a function of kenaf content are presented in Figure 9. Similar to tensile properties, compared to samples H3 which consist of an equal volume percent of Kevlar and kenaf, a reduction of 10% to 20% of kenaf in samples H1 and H2 will result in the increase in flexural strength and modulus of about 42% to 88%. As can be seen, the flexural properties decrease with increased kenaf content. The flexural strength and modulus shows a higher peak at the 11.9% and 22.6% kenaf content. The interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of Kevlar/ epoxy, kenaf/epoxy, and kenaf-Kevlar hybrid composites was evaluated by using short-beam techniques. The load-extension curves of the ILSS for various laminate configurations are presented in Figure 10. Sample H1exhibit the highest ILSS value of 9.32 MPa. Figure 11 shows the ILSS of hybrid composites compared to kenaf/epoxy and Kevlar/epoxy composites. The maximum value of the ILSS for hybrid composites is in H1 and the lowest in sample H3. Generally, hybrid composites show higher ILSS compared to kenaf/epoxy composites except for H3. The all-Kevlar samples have the second highest ILSS to H1. This may have happened because the samples were thin with a very short span. The effect of Kevlar and kenaf volume fraction is shown in Figure 12. The ILSS of the composites Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] 8 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 0(0) Figure 8. The flexural properties of the hybrid composite. Figure 9. The effect of kenaf volume fraction on the flexural properties of the hybrid composite. increased with the Kevlar fibre incorporation in H1 and H2 compared to H3. The similar trend occurred in H4 and H5 when the kenaf content increased. It shows that ILSS is primarily dependent on the matrix properties and the fibre/matrix interfacial properties rather than the fibre properties.41 ILSS results from combination failure modes such as fibre rupture, micro buckling, and interlaminar shear cracking. The effects of voids have detrimental effects on the ILSS of composite laminates. In this study, samples H3, H4, and H5, which contain a high void fraction, recorded lower ILSS compared to lower voids samples. The ILSS may be used to evaluate interface strength and may also indirectly address fibre/matrix adhesion and void content.42 ILSS data give information about the fibre- matrix adhesion. By using a short beam, it is assumed that the beam is short enough to minimize bending stresses resulting in interlaminar shear failure by cracking along a horizontal plane between the laminates. Figure 12 shows the changes in ILSS with kenaf contents in hybrid composites. It is clearly shown that ILSS reduced as the volume fraction of kenaf increased. This is probably due to the poor interaction between kenaf fibre-epoxy and also void content in the composites. Impact test was conducted to analyse the energy absorption capability of the different samples. The absorbed impact energy (in Joule) is the total energy required to fracture the specimen. It is determined from the difference in potential energy before and after the Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] Yahaya et al. 9 Figure 10. Load extension curves for ILSS of composites. Figure 11. ILSS of laminated composite. test. The impact strength (kJ/m2) was calculated by dividing the recorded absorbed impact energy with the cross-section area of the samples. Figure 13 presents the impact properties of kenaf-Kevlar hybrid composites. All kenaf and all Kevlar impact properties are also reported as a comparison. Results show that for all types of composites, impact strength improves at different levels as the Kevlar fibre content increases. This improvement was due to higher amount of highstrength fibres that can transfer the impact stress effectively.43 The impact properties of fibre composites are highly influenced by many factors, including interfacial bond strength, the matrix, and fibre.31 The impact failure of a composite occurs by factors such as fibre/ matrix debonding, fibre and/or matrix fracture, and fibre pull-out. Based on the result, the Charpy impact properties of samples H1 and H4 was higher with the values of 34.22 J and 34.86 J, respectively. Sample H1, as expected, showed better impact properties than H4 and H5 because of Kevlar and void content in the samples. The result indicates that the impact values for H4 and H5 are nearly similar. This may be due to the Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] 10 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 0(0) Figure 12. Interlaminar shear strength of composites. Figure 13. Impact properties of composites. sample’s thickness, fibre content, and high void content in samples tested. Impact toughness of samples H1, H4, and H5 are higher than Kevlar/epoxy composites, may be due to the effect of kenaf reacts as fillers to reinforce the epoxy matrix.44 The relationship between kenaf fibre loading and impact strength of hybrid composites is shown in Figure 14. Although the impact strength of the composite shows a large scatter, there is a trend of decrease of impact strength with increasing kenaf fibre loading. The tensile fracture surface of the composite is subjected to SEM examination to understand the fracture behaviour. Figures 15 and 16 show the SEM micrograph of samples H1 and H4. Figure 14 shows the presence of voids, fibre pull-out, which indicates poor fibre-matrix adhesion, which resulted in poor tensile strength of sample H4. Fracture with less or no fibre pull out is observed in Figure 16. These observations indicate the fibre-matrix interface determined the tensile properties of hybrid composites. Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] Yahaya et al. 11 Figure 14. The relationship between kenaf fiber loading and impact strength of hybrid composites. Conclusions This study focused on the evaluation of the effect of fibre loading of Kevlar/kenaf on the mechanical properties of woven hybrid laminated composites. The mechanical properties of hybrid composites were found to be affected differently by the Kevlar/kenaf weight ratios. Overall performance of Kevlar/epoxy is superior compared to the kenaf/epoxy, which was expected due to the poor mechanical properties of kenaf compared to Kevlar. In all, it was shown that the hybridization affects in intermediate mechanical properties of composites compared to the highest Kevlar/epoxy properties and the lowest properties of kenaf/epoxy composite. Figure 15. SEM micrograph of sample H1. Acknowledgements The authors would like to show their appreciation to Universiti Putra Malaysia and Science and Technology Research Institute for Defence (STRIDE) for supporting the research activity. Conflict of interest None declared. Funding This work was supported by the Ministry of Education Malaysia under the Research Acculturation Collaborative Effort (RACE) Grant Scheme (Project number: RACE/F1/ TK2/UPNM/10). References Figure 16. SEM micrograph of sample H4. 1. Thakur VK and Singha AS. Physico-chemical and mechanical characterization of natural fibre reinforced polymer composites. Iran Polym J 2010; 19: 3–16. Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on March 4, 2016 XML Template (2014) [4.11.2014–6:43pm] //blrnas3.glyph.com/cenpro/ApplicationFiles/Journals/SAGE/3B2/JRPJ/Vol00000/140112/APPFile/SG-JRPJ140112.3d (JRP) [1–13] [PREPRINTER stage] 12 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 0(0) 2. Singha AS and Thakur VK. Effect of fibre loading on urea-formaldehyde matrix based green composites. Iran Polym J 2008; 17: 861–873. 3. Thakur VK, Singha AS, Kaur I, et al. 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