Flexural properties of hybrid composites reinforced by S-2 glass and T700S carbon fibres

A study on the flexural properties of hybrid composites reinforced by S-2 glass and T700S carbon fibres is presented in this paper. Specimens were manufactured following the hand lay-up process in an intra-ply configuration with varying degrees of glass fibres added to the surface of a carbon laminate. These specimens were then tested in the three point bend configuration in accordance with ASTM D790-07 at a span to depth ratio of 32. The failure modes were examined under an optical microscope, and the results show that the dominant failure mode is compressive failure. The flexural modulus, flexural strength and strain to failure were also predicted by finite element analysis. It is seen that flexural modulus decreases with increasing percentage of S-2 glass fibres. Both the experiments and FEA suggest that positive hybrid effects exist by substituting carbon fibres with glass fibres. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.