INTRAPLY HYBRID COMPOSITES BASED ON BASALT AND NYLON WOVEN FABRICS: TENSILE AND COMPRESSIVE PROPERTIES

In this study, the tensile and compressive behaviors of pure and hybrid composite laminates reinforced by basalt–nylon bi-woven intra-ply fabrics were experimentally investigated. Epoxy resin was used as the matrix material. The purpose of using this hybrid composite is to obtain superior characteristics by using the good strength property of basalt fiber with the excellent toughness of nylon fiber. Five different types of woven fabric were used as reinforcement with different volume percentages of nylon (0%, 25%, 33.3%, 50% and 100%). The effects of nylon/basalt fiber content on tensile and compressive parameters were studied. In addition, the after failure visual inspection and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was used to determine the extent and type of damage on tested specimens. The results indicate that the tensile and compressive performances of these composites are strongly affected by the nylon/basalt fiber content. Also, with a proper choice of fiber content, the nylon/basalt hybrid composites can achieve mechanical properties comparable with the pure ones. The stress–strain curves, after failure visual inspection and SEM analysis of tested specimens reveal that hybridization can prevent catastrophic and complete failure. In hybrid composites, the basalt and nylon fibers cannot reach their maximum strength at the same time and the progressive failure of the various fibers therefore occurred.