Damping Analysis of Unidirectional Carbon/Flax Fiber Hybrid Composites

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is to study the effect of hybridation, stacking sequences and fiber orientation on the damping properties of unidirectional carbon/flax fiber reinforced epoxy composites. Non-hybrid and hybrid laminates with different stacking sequences were produced by molding vacuum process. Free vibration tests with an impulse technique were performed on test specimens to investigate the dynamic behavior. Finite element analysis was used to model damping to evaluate the different energies dissipated in the material layer directions of the carbon/flax composites. Close agreement was found between the experimentally measured values and those derived from the numerical simulation for the damping coefficients. The results obtained show that flax layers had a significant effect on damping properties.