PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF HYBRID EPOXY COMPOSITES REINFORCED WITH DATE PALM AND SEA PURSLANE FIBERS FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS

The present work reports the effect of hybridization on physical and mechanical properties of date palm petiole (DP)/sea purslane (SP) fiber reinforced hybrid epoxy composites. Using a standard hand lay-up method, five types of composites were fabricated (C1, C2, H1, H2, and H3) taking 20 wt% of fibers as reinforcement. Various physical properties (density, void content) and mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, impact and hardness)were investigated. It was observed that H3 (5wt %DP +15wt%SP) type composites reveal highest mechanical properties. It also shows less void content with comparison to other fabricated composites which enhances its hardness. With better properties, the fabricated hybrid composites can be used for fabrication of automotive exterior parts as well as dashboard and interior door panels.