Effect of fiber hybridization types on the mechanical properties of carbon/glass fiber reinforced polymer composite rod

In order to balance the cost performance of carbon and glass fibers, the unidirectional carbon/glass hybrid fiber reinforced polymer composite rods were developed through the pultrusion technology in the present paper. Two kinds of fiber hybridization types were proposed including intra-yarn hybrid (uniform dispersed hybrid, UDH) and inter-layer hybrid (core-shell hybrid, CSH). Furthermore, the effects of fiber hybridization types on the mechanical properties (interface/short beam shear strength, three-point bending strength and tensile strength) were investigated experimentally. The full-field strain was obtained through the digital image correlation method to reveal the hybrid mechanism. It was found that the effects of fiber hybridization types on mechanical properties were remarkable. Through uniformly dispersing the carbon fiber into the glass fiber, the maximum increase percentages of available strength were up to 10.9% for short beam shear, 60.3% for three-point bending and 58.7% for tensile strength, respectively. The results of full-field strain analysis revealed that the mechanical failure of CSH rods was dominant by the interface debonding of shell/core, which significantly decreased the mechanical properties. In comparison, UDH rods had the intact interface bonding of carbon/glass fiber/resin, the mechanical failure was derived from the fracture of carbon fiber. The tensile strength of carbon fiber was fully utilized, which contributed to the higher mechanical properties. The larger scale carbon fiber tow may form the weaker interface layer of carbon/glass fiber/resin, which led to uneven interface stress distribution under the external loading and the decrease of interface shear strength.

Automated summary

Unidirectional carbon/glass hybrid fiber reinforced polymer composite rods were developed using pultrusion technology. Two types of fiber hybridization were proposed and their effects on mechanical properties were investigated experimentally. The results showed significant impact of fiber hybridization types on mechanical properties.