ENHANCEMENT OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF COMPOSITE LAMINATES WITH REINFORCED NATURAL PARTICLES

In current industrial scenario composite material has lot of scope due to its improved mechanical properties like hardness, toughness, flexural rigidity, compressive strength & tensile strength. The aim of the paper is to improve the mechanical properties and compare the Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) composite laminate, which is commonly used in aircraft industry. The composite laminate with and without addition of natural particles are fabricated by hand layup method. The laminates are then left for curing in an autoclave at 80deg Celsius. The cured composite laminates are then taken for experimental analysis. The mechanical properties of the laminates are determined under tensile and bending load by using universal testing machine. The GFRP composite laminate proved to have less deflection and increased flexural stress when reinforced with silicon carbide powder (Sic) under the loads. Finally, the proposed glass fibre reinforced plastic composite laminate with addition of natural particles is to enhance the mechanical properties is confirmed as a feasible and promising application warranting further study.