Effect of Hybridization of Ramie Fibers on the Vibrational and Damping Responses of Ramie/Glass/Epoxy Resin Composite Laminates

Abstract

Fiber reinforced polymer composites made with glass fibers are among the oldest and most popular kinds of composites in use today. Glass fiber reinforced composites' key benefits are their adaptability for specific material applications, which allows them to give a number of design advantages relating to strength, chemical stability, impact damage tolerance, heat insulation, and low cost. The focus of this research is to investigate the role of hybridized ramie fibers in the assessment of enhanced vibrational damping capabilities in fiber glass reinforced composites, as well as in the initial assessment to verify their acceptability for real-time applications. Composite molding employing the hand layup technique was used to fabricate hybrid epoxy composites with ramie to glass fiber weight ratios from 0 to 50%. A free vibration test was performed to determine the hybrid composite's vibration dampening capabilities as a function of the ramie fiber filler content. The results demonstrated that the damping ratio was reduced when the percentage of ramie fiber in the GFRP composite was raised from 10% weight to about 50% weight. But adding up to 40% wt of ramie fiber to the hybrid composite had the biggest effect on the damping ratio, natural frequency, storage modulus, and loss modulus. This means that using ramie fiber in hybrid composites will be cost-effective and good for the environment.