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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background:
Hybrid composites are widely used nowadays, especially in weight-sensitive applications that
require high stiffness or strength relative to their weight, such as in the automotive industries.
Synthetic fibres such as glass, carbon, and Kevlar have been extensively used for many years
to construct composite parts in these applications as alternatives to those made from metal-
based materials.

Although synthetic fiber-reinforced composites (FRCs) have successfully proven their ability
to withstand externally applied loadings, they could negatively affect the environment,
starting from their fiber manufacturing processes until the end of their service life or failure.
The high cost of some synthetic fibres is another significant barrier to their wider adoption as
reinforcements for composite materials. In recent years, increasing concerns about the
environment and human life have motivated scientists to find alternatives to synthetic fibres
that are cheaper than synthetic fibres and do not harm the environment. Therefore, plant-
based natural fibres have been widely used as alternatives to synthetic fibres for reinforcing
polymer matrix composites. Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer composites are gaining
popularity due to their environmental aspects(biodegradability), lightweight, abundance,
sustainability, non-abrasive nature, and low cost. These composites have shown decent
mechanical properties such as elongation, ultimate breaking force, flexural properties, impact
strength, acoustic absorption, suitability for processing and crash behaviour. In addition,
natural fiber composites have a positive economic and environmental outlook, thus showing a
good potential for use in the automobile industry.

1.2 Motivation:
Much automotive search has been aimed at developing automotive structures to sustain
impact loading in diverse crash conditions such as, frontal perpendicular, angular, offset and
side collisions. This research has enabled manufacturers to replace existing structural parts
with new materials and design stat improves the structural performance of the automobile. An
increased focus on occupant safety has been the basis for developing the most comfortable, as
well as fuel and environmentally efficient cars.

1.3 Objectives:
 To reduce cost of the existing composite.
 To reduce weight of the existing composite.
 To increase efficiency.

 To develop composite sandwich structure and to compare different reinforcement

orientations.

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1.4

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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Overview:

Considering automotive applications, composite materials have been in use for decades.
These applications range from composite brake pads and structural elements to thermal and
acoustic insulation. Most used materials for these applications are GFRP (Glass Fiber
Reinforced Polymer) and CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) composites owing to
their excellent strength to weight ratio, tensile and impact properties. With growing emphasis
on sustainability and eco-friendliness, natural fiber reinforced composites have gained
popularity. Available research suggests that natural fiber composites may not provide the
same strength as pure CFRP or GFRP composites but if hybridized, they exhibit comparable
strength to weight ratio with reduced material cost. Since composites have a wide range of
applications, there is scope for more research and investigation on properties of natural
hybrid composites and the conditions that affect these properties. This chapter aims to discuss
relevant literature and previous work related to natural-hybrid composites.

2.2 Experimental Studies:

2.2.1 Reinforcement Material:
2.2.1.1 Jute Fiber:

Jute is a bast fiber whose scientific name is Corchorus capsularis of Tiliaceae family.
Plant of jute takes nearly 3 months to grow to a height of 12 - 15 feet. Jute plant is cut
and kept immersed in the water for Retting process during season. The inner stem and
outer get separated and the outer plant gets individualized to form fibres. Jute fiber is
known as golden fiber of Bangladesh, jute is an important fiber of Eastern Indian and
Bangladesh Jute plants grow well in warm and humid environments. Jute fibres are
inexpensive, eco-friendly, sustainable, and biodegradable.

Strain-to-failure (%) 1.1–1.5

Elastic modulus (GPa) 10–32
Tensile strength (MPa) 450–550
Density (g/cm3) 1.5
Areal density (g/m2) 225a
Warp density (end/cm) 4.18a

Table 1: Mechanical and Physical Properties of Jute fiber:

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2.2.1.2 Glass Fiber:

Fiberglass (also called glass-fiber reinforced plastic, GFRP) is a fiber reinforced

polymer which is made from plastic matrix and reinforced by fine fiber of glass.
Fiberglass is made of glass, like drinking glasses in the kitchen. Its major advantages
are lightweight, extremely strong, and tough material. Glass, by far is the most widely
used fiber in all applications due to its good characteristics which include high
abundances, high tensile strength and cost-effective compared to other composites.
Glass fibers are formed by 4 different forms; roving, woven roving, chopped strand
and chopped strand mat. When comparing carbon fiber, the material is far less brittle,
and much cheaper. Compared to metals, it has superior bulk strength, stiffness, and
lightweight properties. There are several grades of glass fiber that are produced
commercially, for example E-glass, S-glass, R-glass, C-glass and Cemfil. The code E
in E-glass fiber stands for electrical. S-glass fibres are stiffer and stronger than E-glass
fibres and have better resistance to fatigue and creep. However, E-glass fibres are
frequently used among all fibrous reinforcements due to their low cost. Almost 90%
of the composites fabrication in aerospace industry used E-glass fiber as
reinforcements. This is because of its high corrosion-resistance, high strength-to-
weight ratio, low thermal conductivity, adequate optical properties, low electrical
conductivity, dimensional stability, good energy savings and light in weight.

Strain-to-failure (%) 1.8–3.2

Elastic modulus (GPa) 72.4
Tensile strength (%) 3450
Density (g/cm3) 2.56
Areal density (g/m2) 600a
Warp density (end/cm) 2.4a

Table 2: Mechanical and Physical Properties of E-Glass fiber

2.3 Matrix Material:

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Besides having its own advantages, fiber has limits in its engineering applications, in which it
cannot transmit load from one to another. The composite consists of fiber and matrix material
that are embedded together, where the matrix serves to bind and transfer load to the fiber and
protect them again environmental attack and damage due to handling. In this research, epoxy
resin is the type of matrix that is going to be used to fabricate fiber composites.

2.3.1 Epoxy-Resin:
Starting materials for epoxy matrix are low-molecular -weight organic liquid resins
containing several epoxide groups, which are three-member rings of one oxygen atom
and two carbon atoms: A common starting material is diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A
(DGEBA), which contains two epoxide groups, one at each end of the molecule. Other
ingredients that may be mixed with the starting liquid are diluents to reduce its
viscosity and flexibilizers to improve the impact strength of the cured epoxy matrix.
The polymerization (curing) reaction to transform the liquid resin to the solid state is
initiated by adding small amounts of a reactive curing agent just before incorporating
fibres into the liquid mix. One such curing agent is diethylene triamine. Hydrogen
atoms in the amine (NH2) groups of a DETA molecule react with the epoxide groups
of DGEBA molecules in the manner illustrated in. As the react ion continues, DGEBA
molecules form crosslinks with each other and a three-dimensional network structure is
slowly formed. The resulting material is a solid epoxy polymer. If the curing reaction
is slowed by external means (e.g., by lowering the reaction temperature) before all the
molecules are cross-linked, the resin would exist in Stage form. At this stage, cross-
links have formed at widely spaced points in the reactive mass. Hardness, tackiness,
and the solvent reactivity of the B-staged resin depend on the cure advancement or the
degree of cure at the end of B-staging. The B-staged resin can be transformed into a
hard, insoluble mass by completing the cure later. Curing time (also called pot life) and
temperature to complete the polymerization reaction depend on the type and amount of
curing agent. With some curing agents, the reaction initiates, and proceeds at room
temperature; but with others, elevated temperatures are required. Accelerators are
sometimes added to the liquid mix to speed up a slow reaction and shorten the curing
time. The properties of a cured epoxy resin depend principally on the cross-link
density (spacing between successive cross-link sites). In general, the tensile modulus,
glass transition temperature, and thermal stability as well as chemical resistance are
improved with increasing cross-link density, but the strain to failure and fracture
toughness are reduced. Factors that control the crosslink density are the chemical
structure of the starting liquid resin (e.g., number of epoxide groups per molecule and
spacing between epoxide groups), functionality of the curing agent (e.g., number of
active hydrogen atoms in DETA), and the reaction conditions, such as temperature and
time. The continuous use temperature for DGEBA-based epoxies is 150°C or less.
Higher heat resistance can be obtained with epoxies based on novolac and
cycloaliphatic, for example, which have a continuous use temperature ranging up to
250°C. In general, the heat resistance of an epoxy is improved if it contains more
aromatic rings in its basic molecular chain. Epoxy matrix, as a class, has the following
advantages over other thermoset matrices:

1. Wide variety of properties, since many starting materials, curing agents, and
modifiers are available
2. Absence of volatile matters during cure
3. Low shrinkage during cure
4. Excellent resistance to chemicals and solvents
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5. Excellent adhesion to a wide variety of fillers, fibres, and other substrates

6. The principal disadvantages are its relatively high cost and long cure time.

2.4 Weaving Patterns:

The tremendous developments in the textile field such as weave type, braiding and knitting
technologies have triggered improvements in the properties of composite material. Several
researchers have made analysis of natural fiber reinforcement in woven form in the polymer
matrix and reported that woven fabric composite enhances the properties of composite
material compared to composite with intimately mixed fibers. Sapuan and Maleque used
woven banana fabric-reinforced composite for low load application to develop the telephone
stand. Bledzki et al. compared the mechanical properties of woven flax and jute composite.
Their results revealed woven flax composite increases the mechanical properties of
composite material compared to jute composite. Goutianos et al. found that the properties of
woven composite depend entirely on the nature of yarn twist. They report that yarns with low
twist transferring minimum stress under loading as a result of the low strength of woven
fabric. Pothan et al. have compared the mechanical properties of plain, twill and matt woven
sisal composite. They found enhancement of the mechanical properties of the composite
material compared to twill and plain woven composite through matt type woven sisal
composite. This arises as a result of poor stress transfer of plain and twill woven fabric which
is the result of lower fiber volume percentage in the polymer matrix. Rajesh and Jeyaraj have
done analysis of the dynamic mechanical properties of different woven composites for
banana and jute composite. They found the nature of weaving pattern having influence on the
dynamic properties of composite material. They have also extended the analysis to intra-ply
woven banana/jute hybrid composite by changing banana and jute yarns in the warp and weft
directions. They found the orientation of fiber influence on the dynamic properties of
composite material. The results reveal composite with relatively stronger jute fiber yarn along
the warp direction has a higher storage modulus (3.5 Eþ09 Pa) compared to relatively weak
banana yarn in the warp direction (2 Eþ09 Pa). Several researchers have performed the
analysis of the layering effect of natural fiber composite on mechanical, dynamic mechanical
and free vibration properties and concluded that the number of sequential layers influences
the properties of composite material. Jawaid et al. analyzed the tensile properties of tri-layer
oilpalm jute woven composite and showed that jute layer, when kept as skin layer, improves
the tensile property of composite material by 48% compared to pure oilpalm composite.
Bennet et al. analyzed the stacking sequence effect of coconut sheath/sansevieria cylindrica
polyester composite and found that coconut sheath/ sansevieria cylindrica/coconut sheath
composite enhances the natural frequency. Santulli et al. have analyzed the mechanical
behavior of jute cloth/wool felts hybrid composite using the intercalated and sandwich
method and found composite with sandwich method increasing the mechanical properties of
composite material. Ramesh et al. have analyzed the mechanical properties of sisal/ jute/glass
reinforced polyester composite. They found the incorporation of sisal and jute in glass
composite increases the mechanical properties of the composite material. Natural fiber
composite with improved mechanical properties can be used to replace structures made of
metals and synthetic fiber-based composites in low and medium load applications. The major
drawback associated with natural fiber composite is their short and random orientation form
of reinforcement in the matrix which reduces the mechanical properties due to their
amorphous nature. A few researchers have demonstrated a significant improvement in the
mechanical properties of natural fiber composite through their reinforcement in woven form.
However, exploration still remains to be done by way of detailed investigation on the

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influence of the nature of the weaving type of the fabric, the number of layers and stacking
sequence of fabrics with different weaving type on the mechanical properties of a polymer
composite. In the same way, it is very important to analyze the effect of intra-ply
hybridization of two different natural fibers in a woven fabric on the mechanical behavior of
the composite.

2.5 Arrangement Of Hybrid Composites (Inter-ply & Intra-ply Pattern):

In hybrid composites, the mechanical properties of hybrid composites are stacking sequence
dependent. Mechanical properties such as flexural and impact properties might vary
depending on the stacking order of fiber layers for the same volume fraction of fibre
components. Hybridization, for example, was discovered to provide composites with the
highest load resistance and energy absorption. The types of hybrid composites are
differentiated based on fibrous reinforcement, which includes: (1) layered (interply), (2)
interwoven (intraply), and (3) intermingled, as shown in Figure 1. Each intraply
reinforcement, whether in the shape of a fabric or a mat, is made up of multiple different
types of fibres. Intra-fibre reinforcement is made up of a variety of fibres that are mixed and
hybridized within the ply. Interply, on the other hand, is made up of layers of individual
reinforcements in the shape of textiles or mats that are piled together.

Figure 1. Hybrid configurations for continuous and discontinuous fibre reinforced

composites: interply, intraply and intermingled adapted from MDPI, 2022.

In interply, each reinforcement in the form of fabric or a mat is made up of one type of fibre.
To get the optimum hybrid mechanical characteristics, the fibres were then laid up in
alternative sequences and directions. Choosing a high-strength fibre will result in a hybrid
with the highest mechanical strength. The sequence of their arrangement is also crucial. The
impact energy is absorbed by the initial layers, which are made of a strong shear-resistant
material. Tensile-resistant fibres should be used in the middle and rear layers. The volume
fractions should be encountered as the volume percentage of the dominant reinforcement
increases, the flexural and tensile strengths of the composite increase. The physical and
mechanical characteristics of interply hybrid composites are influenced by all these aspects.
Interply hybridization has been successfully exploited by several researchers to improve the
mechanical characteristics of composite laminates.

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2.5.1 Difficulties in fabrication of reinforcement mat

Jute threads exhibit twists, minute branching of small fibers and possess a coarser
texture. Glass fibers are extremely fine and smooth along the length. Due to their
differences in texture, it needs a specialised setup for an efficient Intra-ply weave but
due to unavailability of required components for the setup, Manual/hand weave
method was adopted.

Due to the coarse nature of jute fibers, they don’t slide over glass fibers easily while
alternating in warp and weft direction. If a small, branched fiber from a jute thread gets
stuck in a perpendicular fiber strand of a glass fiber thread, the jute fiber pulls the glass
fiber strands away from its thread and causes overlaps with the adjacent jute fiber
strands. This risks entanglement of threads and directly affects the time and quality of
the weave. Hand weaving is inherently a time consuming and tedious process and did
not seem practical for creation of multiple of jute-glass intra-ply mats. Making
unidirectional alternate fiber mats on hand-loom apparatus was adopted for practical
purposes with a compromise on weft directional properties of an individual mat.
However directional properties could potentially be improved by stacking.
Unidirectional mats had alternate jute and glass fibers along warp direction and cotton
threads along weft direction. The weaving operation on hand-loom was faster than
hand weaving but it risked cotton string breakage due to friction while setting alternate
threads. Broken threads meant warp fibers could separate therefore had to be fixed
immediately which ultimately caused delays.

2.6 Manufacturing Process:

2.6.1 Hand Lay-up Operation:
Hand lay-up is one of the common methods of manufacturing fiberglass composites. It
is the method of cutting lengths of fiber reinforcement off of rolls. The reinforcement
most often comes in the form of chopped fiber, woven fiber, or stitched fiber. A
release agent, usually in either wax or liquid form, is applied to the chosen mold. This
will allow the finished product to be removed cleanly from the mold. Resin typically a
2-part polyester, vinyl or epoxy is mixed with its hardener and applied to the surface.
Sheets of fiberglass matting are laid into the mold, then more resin mixture is added
using a brush or roller.
The material must conform to the mold, and air must not be trapped between the
fiberglass and the mold. Additional resin is applied and also possibly additional sheets
of fiberglass. Hand pressure, vacuum or rollers are used to make sure the resin
saturates and fully wets all layers, and any air pockets are removed.

Resin is a good resistance to most chemicals, good resistance to creep and fatigue, high
strength and good electrical properties. To fabricate the composites, fiberglass hand
lay-up construction method will be used in this research. There are major advantages
of using hand lay-up methods; low molding costs, it is widely and commonly used, it is
possibility for large products small series products.

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Figure 2: Hand Lay Up Method

2.6.2 Advantages of Hand Lay-up Process:

1. Very low capital investment is required for this process because there is negligible
equipment cost as compared to other processes.
2. The process is very simple and versatile. Any fiber type material can be selected with
any fiber orientation.
3. The cost of making a prototype part is very low because a simple mold can be used to
make the part. In addition, the raw material used for this process is liquid resin, mat
and fabric, material, which are less expensive than preparing material.[7]

2.6.3 Limitations of Hand Lay-Up Process:

1. The process is labor incentive.
2. The process is mostly is suitable for prototype as well as for making large structures.
3. Because of its open mold nature.
4. Styrene emission is major concern.
5. The quality of the part produced is consistent form part to part. High fiber volume
fraction cannot be manufactured using this process.

2.7 Applications for Designed Component:

2.7.1 Front Under-run Protection Device (FUPD) and Rear Under-run Protection
Device (RUPD):
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Under-running of passenger vehicle is one of the major parameters to be considered

during the design and development of truck chassis. Front Under-run Protection
Device (FUPD) and Rear Under-run Protection Device (RUPD) play an important role
in avoiding under-running of vehicles from the front and the back side of a truck.

During an accident between a truck and a car, because of its high ground clearance for
a truck the car may underrun into the truck. It means the car goes below the truck
which causes fatal injuries or death inside the car. In order to avoid underrun UPD is
used. The UPD acts as a shield and doesn’t allow the underrun of the car. During an
accident the UPD deforms by absorbing. So that the damage caused to car stops
somewhere near front wheels to front bonnet region. Hence the impact to the
passengers will be reduced.

The energy absorption capacity is the most critical parameter in the design of Rear
Under run Protection Device (RUPD). Steel is being used as conventional structural
material for RUPD. Advanced high strength steels have been developed which can
absorb maximum impact energy. However, the use of steel material for RUPD led to
increase in weight and fuel consumption. High strength to weight ratio (specific
strength) is one of the most desirable characteristic property in automotive industries.
Aluminium foam materials and magnesium alloys with high specific impact strength
have been used for different automobile parts. Alternatively, composite materials
became the most suitable materials with their high energy absorption capabilities and
crash worthiness.

The composite bumper beams, side protection and under run protection devices with
complex geometrical shapes are generally made using the Pultrusion process. The
pultruded composites sections have comparable energy absorption capabilities with
steel and aluminium. Unlike the plastic deformation in metals, the impact energy
absorption occurs in composites through several mechanisms such as matrix cracking,
delamination, weak interfacial zones, damage evolution and fiber cracking. Li et
al. performed an experimental and numerical analysis of pultruded glass fiber
reinforced plastics (GFRP) composites to check the performance under low velocity
impact loads. This study reported that the matrix cracking and multiple shear damages
during the impact were found to be the main reasons for high energy absorption of
composites. Numerical simulations provide useful insights into designing and
optimizing the structural performance of automobile bumper beams made from
pultruded composites. Belingardi et al. performed numerical simulation on a front
bumper beam made of E-glass/epoxy with different geometrical configurations in
order to obtain an optimized profile with better energy absorption capabilities. An
experimental and numerical study was performed by Kim et al. by replacing glass with
hybrid reinforcement (glass and carbon) in a thermoplastic composite used for a
bumper beam and obtained a significant increase in energy absorption along with an
astounding 33% weight reduction. Through numerical simulations, Hosseinzadeh et
al. proposed that the short glass fiber reinforced thermoset composite can offer good
impact strength comparable with glass bidirectional mat reinforced thermoplastic
composite at relatively low cost. The proposed improved design has led to 68.87%
increase in energy absorption and 66.17% decrease in car deceleration.

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2.7.2 Lightweight Battery Casing:

With the rapid growth of the number of vehicles during the last decade, new energy
vehicles are emerging as the next generation transportation to alleviate the strong
dependence of the automobile industry on fossil oils and to reduce pollutant emissions.
As one of the core technologies of new energy electric vehicles, power battery box has
exerted great influence on the car’s performance. The pursuit of lightweight power
battery box is urgently needed before the substantial scientific advances in batteries,
motors, electronic controls, etc. According to previous studies, it is highly probable to
find a high-strength, light-weight, and low-cost box material for an electric car power
battery. In particular, the lightweight design of power battery box materials needs not
only to reduce the weight, but also to fulfill the necessary criteria of vehicle strength
and safety. For example, the ultra-light concept automobile was created by General
Motors in the United States as early as 1992. The car’s body was made of carbon fiber
composite materials and weighed 191 kg in total. Sunarto Kaleg improved the design
based on the optimized material thickness and achieved the highest quality battery case
by using 5052-0 series aluminum alloy as the battery materials. Despite the fact that
significant progresses have been accomplished in this field, few studies were
performed in regard to lightweight materials comparison for power battery packs under
extrusion conditions. A detailed analysis would be helpful and in return advance this
field. In this work, the most used materials including sheet molding compound (SMC,
a kind of glass fiber composite), carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), and metal are
selected and modelled to study the effect of extrusion force. To simplify some non-
structural parts in power battery packs, 3D modelling software and finite element pre-
processing software are applied to mesh the power battery pack of electric vehicles.
The properties of materials and boundary conditions of the simulated battery pack are
created based on the actual situation. Based on simulation results, the strength of
battery packs made of three materials are compared under the same standard operating
conditions, and the optimal option for lightweight power battery packs is thereafter
obtained.

REFERENCES

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[1] S. Liu and M.Sakr, A comprehensive review on passive heat transfer enhancements in
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[2] P.W. Bearman and J.K. Harvey, Control of circular cylinder flow by the use of dimples,
AIAA J. 31 (1993) 1753-1756.

[3] M.K. Chyu, Y. Yu, H. Ding, J.P. Downs and F.O. Soechting, Concavity enhanced heat
transfer in an internal cooling passage, International Gas Turbine &Aeroengine Congress &
Exhibition ASME paper 97-GT-437.

[4] H.K. Moon, T. O` Connell and B. Glezer, Channel height effect on heat transfer and
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[5] G.I. Mahmood, M.L. Hill, D.L. Nelson, P.M. Ligrani, H.K. Moon and B. Glezer, Local
heat transfer and flow structure on and above a dimpled surface in a channel, J. Turbo
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[6] G.I. Mahmood and P.M. Ligrani, Heat Transfer in a dimpled channel: combined
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