Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Synthetic Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites by Mixture Design Analysis

The objective of this work is to investigate the mechanical properties of Glass fiber reinforced Epoxy composites with different weight proportions. Using hand lay-up technique followed by compression moulding, five composites were prepared by varying the Glass fiber from 15 wt.% to 35 wt.%. The necessary mechanical tests were conducted as per ASTM standards and surface morphology of the fractured surfaces was examined by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). As per the obtained results, it is concluded that the 25 wt.% fiber loaded composite has superior mechanical properties. The results are mathematically evaluated by adopting Mixture Design optimization technique. The predicted values establish that 25 wt.% fiber loading shows good mechanical properties compared to other combinations.