Mechanical and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Hybrid Composites Molded by Resin Transfer Molding

This work aims to evaluate the performance of glass/sisal hybrid composites focusing on mechanical (flexural and impact) and dynamic mechanical analyses (DMTA). Hybrid composites with different fiber loadings and different volume ratios between glass and sisal were studied. The effect of the fiber length has also been investigated. The densities of the composites were compared with the theoretical values, showing agreement with the rule of mixtures. The results obtained in the flexural and impact analysis revealed that, in general, the properties were always higher for higher overall reinforcement content. By DMTA, an increase in the storage and loss modulus was found, as well as a shift to higher values for higher glass loading and overall fiber volume. It was also noticed an increase in the efficiency of the filler and the calculated activation energy for the relaxation process in the glass transition region. The fiber length did not significantly change the results observed in all analyses carried out in this work. The calculated adhesion factor increased for higher glass loadings, meaning the equation may not be applied for the system studied and there are other factors, besides adhesion influencing energy dissipation of the composites. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 118: 887-896, 2010