Investigation of mechanical strength of graphene-reinforced hybrid FRP composites

Abstract

This work integrates graphene oxide (GO) particles with natural and synthetic fabrics to enhance the compression and flexural properties of epoxy-based hybrid composites. Glass fiber (GG), carbon fiber (CC), basalt fiber (BB), and Kevlar fiber (KK), which are renowned for their exceptional material qualities, are combined with GO, which provides significant mechanical advantages, to investigate the composites’ compression and flexural strength. According to ASTM D3410 and ASTM D7264 standards for compression and flexural testing, the study employs vacuum bagging techniques to evaluate several composite formulations’ compression and flexural properties. The results showed substantial flexural and compressive strength increases, particularly when 1% GO was added. The research examines the effect of stacking order and fabric orientation on the flexural and compressive behavior of the composite laminates.Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to characterize the fractured surfaces and to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the observed flexural fracture behavior.