Experimental Investigation On Effect Of Cyclic Loading On Free Vibration Characteristics Of Glass/Jute Hybrid Composite Beams

Abstract

Due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite laminates are extensively employed in vehicle, aeroplane, marine, and machine tool structures. These FRP structures are subjected to vibration and fatigue under dynamic service conditions. The purpose of this study is to see how cyclic loading affects the free vibration characteristics of FRP composite laminates. Hybrid composite laminates comprised of natural jute fibre and synthetic glass fibre are being examined as a way to promote the concept of environmentally friendly materials in structural applications. For both natural and synthetic fibres, woven fabric forms are chosen because they produce balanced characteristics in both the fibre plane and thickness direction. Epoxy resin is employed as a matrix. Hand layup method is used to fabricate four layered glass/jute hybrid composite laminates with two different stacking sequences. Mechanical parameters such as tensile strength and flexural strength are evaluated according to ASTM standards for the prepared laminates. A completely reversed bending fatigue test apparatus is built in-house to apply cyclic load to the glass/jute hybrid composite specimen with the specified amplitude and frequency. At various levels of cyclic loading, the free vibration properties of a glass/jute hybrid composite specimen are measured using the impulse excitation technique. The optimal stacking sequence of glass/jute hybrid composite laminates for dynamic service conditions is established based on experimental data of mechanical properties and vibration characteristics of glass/jute hybrid composite laminates.

Keywords

• natural fibre reinforced composite material
• hybrid composites
• mechanical properties
• free vibration characteristics
• fatigue-vibration interaction
• and effective stacking sequence