Evaluation of mechanical properties and morphology of seawater aged carbon and glass fiber reinforced polymer hybrid composites

The replacement of metallic components by carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites is inhibited due to expensive carbon fiber. This problem may be addressed through hybridization of carbon and glass fiber to reduce the cost and achieve desirable mechanical properties of the hybrid composites. In this article, the influence of stacking sequence of carbon and glass fiber on seawater diffusivity, tensile, flexural and impact strength of hybrid composites were evaluated. The composites were fabricated by hand layup technique and seawater aged for 90 days at room temperature. The results revealed that the flexural strength of [CG(2)CG](s) type of hybrid composite was the highest, i.e. 490 MPa in dry condition. The seawater diffusivity of [CG(2)CG](s) type hybrid composite was reduced by 44% as compared to that of plain glass fiber reinforced polymer composite. The retention of tensile, flexural and impact strength of seawater aged hybrid composite of [CG(2)CG](s) type were about 95%, 82%, and 94% respectively. The failure modes of the hybrid composites in dry and seawater aged condition were observed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) to establish a possible structure properties co-relationship.