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DOI: 10.1177/0731684413516393

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Original Article
Journal of Reinforced Plastics
and Composites

Hybrid fiber reinforced polymer 2014, Vol. 33(5) 454–471

! The Author(s) 2014
Reprints and permissions:
composites – a review sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0731684413516393
jrp.sagepub.com

TP Sathishkumar, J Naveen and S Satheeshkumar

Abstract
The polymer matrix composites have been widely used for many applications. These are light in weight and easy for
manufacturing. The hybrid fiber reinforced composites have been prepared to enhance the mechanical, thermal, damping
properties compared to single-fiber reinforced composites. The fiber reinforced hybrid composites consist of two or
more fiber in a matrix system. The different fibers were reinforced with suitable matrix for preparing the hybrid
composites using various manufacturing methodology. The hybrid composites are used for many application and repla-
cing wood, wood fiber composites and conventional materials. The mechanical properties (tensile, flexural and impact),
dynamic, tribological and water absorption properties of natural fiber reinforced hybrid polymer composites and natural/
synthetic fiber reinforced hybrid polymer composites were reported.

Keywords
Hybrid composites, natural fibers, synthetic fibers, polymer composites

mechanical decorticator,3 water retting,4 chemical

Introduction
Composites are multifunctional materials consisting of
two or more chemically distinct constituents, on a
macro-scale, having a distinct interface separating
them. More than one discontinuous phases are
embedded in a continuous phase to form a hybrid com-
posite. The discontinuous phase is usually harder and
stronger than the continuous phase and it is called the
hybrid reinforcement and the continuous phase is
termed the matrix. The matrix material can be classified
into metallic, polymeric and ceramic. Recently, the
polymer matrix composites have been widely used for
many applications like automotive parts, aeroplanes
interior parts, household appliances and construction
materials.1
The reinforcing phase can either be fibrous or non-
fibrous (particulates) in nature and if the fibers are
derived from plants or some other living species, they
are called natural fibers.1 The environmental issues
have resulted in considerable interest in the develop-
ment of new composite materials with addition of
more than one reinforcement that are biodegradable
resources, such as natural fibers as low-cost and envir-
onment-friendly alternative for synthetic fibers.2 These
fibers have been extracted by many process like
retting etc. The fibers made from chemicals are called
synthetic fibers and it may be glass, carbon, aramid,
boron, ceramic fibers and etc. The fibers made from
natural chemical (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin,
pectin, wax and moisture) are called natural fibers
and it may be jute, flax, hemp, sisal, coir, banana,
agave, snake grass fiber and etc. This paper reports
the hybrid fiber (either combination of natural or syn-
thetic or natural/synthetic) reinforced polymer matrix
composites. The hybrid fibers in the composites can
withstand higher load compared to single-fiber
reinforcements in different direction based on the
reinforcement, and the surrounding matrix keeps
them in the desired location and orientation, acting as
a higher load transfer medium between them.5,6 The
following Figure 1 explains the methodology of the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kongu Engineering College,
Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
Corresponding author:
TP Sathishkumar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kongu
Engineering College, Erode, Tamil Nadu, India.
Email: tpsathish@kongu.ac.in
Sathishkumar et al. 455

Figure 1. Flowchart of the hybrid fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites preparation and characterization.

hybrid fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites

preparation and characterization, and its application. Vf ¼ Vf1 þVf2 ð4Þ
Figure 2 shows the classification of natural and syn-
thetic fibers. Wf ¼ Wf1 þWf2 ð5Þ

Wf1
Preparation of hybrid fiber reinforced Vf1 ¼ c ð6Þ
f1
polymer matrix composites
The hybrid fiber reinforced polymer composites were where, Vf is the total reinforcement volume fraction,
prepared by adopting various manufacturing tech- Vc1 and Vc2 are the relative volume fraction of first
niques as shown in Table 1 and were discussed below. and second reinforcement. Vf1 and Vf2 are the volume
The rule of mixture is used to prepare the hybrid fiber fraction of first and second fiber. rf and rc are the dens-
reinforced polymer composites and the volume fraction ity of the fiber and composites and Wf is weight of the
of hybrid fiber reinforced composites has been prepared fiber.
by the following equations.32,33

Vc1 þVc2 ¼ 1 ð1Þ

Injection molding
Moe and Kin27 prepared the randomly mixed bamboo/
Vf1 glass fiber (GF) reinforced polypropylene (PP) compos-
Vc1 ¼ ð2Þ
Vf ites using injection moulding process. The long bamboo
fibers were obtained from the cylindrical bamboo culms
Vf2 which were soaked in water for 24 h. The culms of fibers
Vc2 ¼ ð3Þ
Vf were cut into smaller pieces of 1–1.5 m in length and
456 Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(5)

Fiber

Natural fiber Synthetic Fiber

Animal Cellulose Mineral Organic Fiber Inorganic Fiber

/
Lignocellulose
1. Silk Asbestos 1. Aramid/Kevlar 1. Glass
2. Wool 2. Polyethylene 2. Carbon
3. Hair 3. Aromatic polyester 3. Boron
4. Silica carbide

Bast Leaf Seed Fruit Wood Stalk Grass/

Reeds

1. Jute 1. Sisal 1. Kapok 1. Coir 1. Soft 1. Rice

2. Hemp 2. Banana 2. Cotton 2. Oil Palm wood 2. Wheat 1. Bamboo
3. Flex 3. Abaca 3. Loofah 2. Hard 3. Barley 2. Bagasse
4. Ramie 4. Palf 4. Milk wood 4. Maize 3. Corn
5. Kenaf 5. Henequen Weed 5. Oat 4. Sabai
6. Roselle 6. Agave 6. Rye 5. Rape
7. Mesta 7. Raphia 6. Esparto
8. Okra 8. Fique 7. Canary
9. Kudzu 9. Sansevieria cylindrica
10. Rattan 10. Sansevieria ehrenbergii
11. Wisteria 11. Sansevieria trifasciata
12. Sansevieria stuckyi
13. Sansevieria kirkii
14. Sansevieria pinguicula

Figure 2. Classification of natural and synthetic fibers.

manually sliced into 1-cm-wide strips with a knife. An
extruder was used to get the fiber diameter of approxi-
mately 1 mm and chips length of 110 mm. A high-
speed blender was used to obtain the short bamboo
fibers. The continuous GFs were cut into 3 mm in
length using electronic fiber-cutting machine. Those
fibers were dried in an oven at 105  C for 72 h and
24 h in order to remove moisture. The fibers and PP
were melt-mixed by using a torque rheometer at
190  C and a rotor speed of 40 r/min for 8–10 min.
The mixture with and without maleic anhydride poly-
propylene (MAPP) was transferred to injection mold-
ing machine to obtain the hybrid fiber reinforced
composites.
Khan et al.28 adopted the injection moulding tech-
nique with conventional extruder equipped for prepar-
ing the PP-MAPP hybrid composites with (continuous)
cordenka, jute and (cordenka+ jute) yarn (tows). The
MAPP was added in an amount of 3 wt% in pure PP.
The maximum temperature of the extruder and the die
was 215  C and 200  C, respectively. The coated
yarns were cooled with water and cut into small granu-
lates of about 4-mm length. These granulates were
dried at 110  C overnight. Dried granulates were
again extruded with the same extruder under the same
conditions to prepare the homogenous fiber–matrix
mixture. The dried fiber content in the campsites was
25% (w/w).
Hydraulic press
Mishra et al.7 prepared the non-woven pineapple leaf
fiber (PALF) mats (untreated) and sisal mats from
untreated and surface-treated sisal fibers (SFs) and
woven GF mats. PALF/sisal mats were placed in
between the layers of GF mats with varying fiber
weight precent and the hybrid composites were pre-
pared with the polyester resin using the closed mold.
Sathishkumar et al. 457

Table 1. The hybrid fiber reinforced polymer composites preparation methods.

Curing agent Manufacturing methods

Hybrid fiber Resin Catalyst Accelerator Ref.

Pineapple/ Sisal/Glass Polyester MEKP Cobalt napthenate Hydraulic press [7]

Sisal/Silk polyester Hand lay-up technique [8]
Kenaf/Glass polyester Hand lay-up and Cold press [9]
Woven Jute/Glass Polyester Hand lay-up [10]
Banana/Kenaf Polyester Hydraulic compression [11]
moulding process
Banana/Sisal Polyester Hand lay-up method followed [12]
by compression moulding
Glass/Palmyra Polyester Hydraulic compression [13]
moulding process
Jute/Glass Polyester Hand lay-up [14]
Roselle/Sisal Polyester Hand lay-up technique [15]
Silk/Sisal Polyester Hand lay-up technique [16]
Banana/Sisal Epoxy Hydraulic compression [17]
moulding process
Glass/Glass Epoxy HY951 Hardener Hand lay-up technique [18]
Carbon/glass Epoxy HY225 Hardener Hand lay-up technique [19]
Oil palm/Jute Epoxy Hardener Compression [20]
moulding process
Chicken feather/Glass Epoxy n-tert-butyl Hot press [21]
peroxybenzoate
Basalt/Hemp Polypropylene Hot pressing [22]
Flax, Hemp and Jute Polypropylene Hydraulic press [23]
Flax/wood fiber HDPE Twin screw extrusion [23]
Banana/Glass Polypropylene Twin screw extrusion [24]
Cork/Coconut HDPE Screw extrusion and [25]
compression moulding
Kenaf/Pineapple HDPE Mixing and Compression [26]
moulding
Bamboo/Glass Polypropylene Injection moulding [27]
Cordenka/Jute Polypropylene Injection moulding [28]
Bamboo/Cellulose poly lactic acid Injection moulding [29]
OPEFB/Glass Vinyl ester Resin transfer moulding [30]
Aramid /Sisal Phenolic Stirring, Drying, compression [31]
HDPE: high-density polyethylene; MEKP: methyl ethyl ketone peroxide; OPEFB: oil palm empty fruit punch.

First, the mold was polished and then a releasing agent
was applied on the mold surfaces. One percentage
cobalt napthenate and methyl ethyl ketone peroxide
(MEKP) was mixed in polyester resin for curing the
composites. Before pouring that, the vacuum desicca-
tors degassed the resin mixture. Then the resin was
poured on the mats placed in the mold. When the
mats were completely wet by the resin, the mold was
closed and placed on the lower movable platen of the
hydraulic press. The mold was pressed at a pressure of
0.2 kg/cm2 and allowed to cure the composites at room
temperature.
Paul Wambua et al.23 prepared the flax, hemp and
jute plain woven natural hybrid fiber reinforced PP
composite panels with 46% fiber volume fraction.
The compressing layers of fabric and PP sheets were
stacking between the hot platens in the compression
moulding press. The platens were electrically heated
to a temperature of 190  C at a pressure of 6.4 bar
(0.64 MPa) applied on the material. Cooling of the
sample was carried out under pressure between the
cold platens of the hydraulic press. Finally, the com-
posite specimens were cut into 30 cm  30 cm dimen-
sions for characterization.
458
Hand lay-up method followed by compression
moulding
34
Maries et al. prepared the composites by using
chopped banana and SFs of 30 mm length with polyes-
ter resin. Hand lay-up method followed by compression
moulding was adopted for composites preparation. The
curing process was achieved by incorporating 1%
MEKP and cobalt napthenate. The hybrid composites
were prepared with varying fibers volume fraction of
0.20 to 0.50 and keep the relative volume fraction of
banana and SF as 1:1. At constant fiber volume frac-
tion of 0.40, the composites were prepared by varying
the volume ratio of the two fibers. The fibers were
chopped and air-dried at 50 C for 5 h. It was intimately
mixed together and mats were prepared. It was then
impregnated with polyester resin in a mould having
dimensions of 150 mm  150 mm  3 mm, respectively.
The air bubbles were removed carefully with a roller
and the mould was kept closed. The curing was done
at a temperature of 30  C for 24 h under constant pres-
sure of 10 kg/cm2.
Johnson et al.35 followed the random wetlay process
that was used to fabricate thermoplastic composite
sheets reinforced with chopped lyocell fibers and
steam-exploded hardwood fibers. The prepared sheets
were cut into 152-mm length and stacked on the mould.
The adequate no of sheets were stacked one on another
to obtain the 3.18-mm thickness according to ASTM
standard. The compression mould was used to prepare
the composites with 25–65 wt% fiber.
Chensong Dong et al.36 prepared the S-2 glass/
T700S carbon fibers (CFs) reinforced epoxy (Kinetix
R240) hybrid composites by using simple hand lay-up
method with curing agent of Kinetix H160 hardener.
The first step was making prepregs. The carbon or
GF with epoxy prepregs were prepared by wounding
the fibers onto a metal frame approximately
190 mm  290 mm and the fibers were wetted in the
resin. The wetted fibers were cured in an oven at a
temperature of 80  C for 24 h. After that the prepregs
were stored in a freezer for 24 h before being used.
Noorunnisa Khanam et al.8 prepared the composites
by using chopped sisal/silk fibers with unsaturated
polyester. The curing agent of 1 wt% MEKP and
cobalt napthenate were added with polyester resin.
The hand lay-up technique was used to prepare the
hybrid composites with various fibers length of 1, 2
and 3 cm. The resin was poured on the fibers into a
mould made of glass plates and air bubbles were
removed carefully with a roller. The castings were
allowed to cure for 24 h at room temperature and
then post-cured at 80  C for 4 h. The relative weight
ratio of fibers was kept as 1:1 for all fiber length
composites.
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(5)
Technological process
Czigany22 prepared the hybrid composites with PP as
in the form of fillers. Junkers type fibrising technology
was used for manufacturing basalt fibers and the aver-
age diameter of fibers was 9.0  2.7 mm. Fine carded
hemp fibers (HFs) was obtained from the industrial
hemp plant and the average HF diameter was
50.6  16.9 mm. GF and CF were applied in the pro-
duction of hybrid composites besides basalt and HFs.
The average diameter of GFs was 12.2  1.4 mm and
the CFs was 7.9  0.9 mm. The composites were pro-
duced by using a hot pressing technique. Multicylinder
carding machine were used for achieving the homoge-
neous distribution of fibers. The experimental setup is
shown in Figure 3. The very short basalt fibers fell out
from the machine and it was collected into the waste
container. The longer fibers were arranged in the dir-
ection of carding and mixed with the PP fillers. A
thick, mat-like, multilayered material was formed
from the carding machine through sliver needle
punching. It resulted in thicker fabrics and it con-
tained less air inclusions. The main drawback of car-
ding technology was the fibers felling down when the
material was passed between the cylinders and needle
punching. The 60-mm long fibers were broken into
9.1 mm long in case of BF, 30.0 mm in case of HF,
18.4 mm in case of GF and 14.8 mm in case of CF.
The multilayer fibers mats were placed in the hot press
for preparing the hybrid fiber composites through melt
mixing.
Screw extrusion process
Banana fibers were scoured in hot detergent solution
(2%) at 70  C for 1 h to remove dirt and core material,
followed by washing with distilled water and drying in a
vacuum oven at 70  C for 3 h. An electronic fiber cut-
ting machine cut the dried fibers into the length of
46 mm. To remove surface moisture, banana and
GFs were pre-dried in a vacuum oven at 70  C for 1 h
and at 105  C for 24 h, respectively. A homogenised
melt mixing of PP with short banana/GFs at
15:15 wt% of fiber loading and 2 wt% of MAPP were
prepared by using an intermeshing counter rotating
twin screw extruder by Nayak.24
Screw extrusion process followed by
compression moulding
The natural maternal like cork and coconut was pre-
dried at 80  C at 24 h to stabilise the moisture content.
The compounding was mixed in a counter-rotating
twin-screw extrusion machine. The cork powder and
high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were premixed and
Sathishkumar et al.
Figure 3. Technological process of composite manufacturing.
fed in the hopper with coconut fiber in the machine.
The above mixture was milled to produce composite
pellet with dimensions less than 7 mm by extrusion.
This processing temperature was 130–160  C with
screw speed of 30 r/min. The obtained pellets were
kept in the compression mould under hydraulic press
to prepare the composite boards with the dimension of
186  118  3 mm3. The mould temperature was 150  C
and 1.42 MPa hydraulic pressing.25 Similarly, the cork-
polymer-based short SF reinforced composites pellet
and composites boards were prepared by Fernandes
at al.37
Resin transfer molding
Abdul et al.30 prepared the oil palm of empty fruit
bunch (EFB) fibers/GF with the vinyl ester hybrid
laminate composites using resin transfer molding
machine at 5 bar pressure for 10 min. The hybrid com-
posites were cooled and cured at room temperature.
The cured composites were placed in an oven at
358  C for 24 h.
Stirring, drying and compression moulding process
Lin et al.31 prepared the high-quality phenolic hybrid
composites with low cost by combining aramid fiber
(AF) and micro-fibrillated SF. SF (80% w/w) and AF
(20% w/w) were immersed in water at 0.2% consistency
and the mixture was stirred for 5 min. The solution was
vacuum filtered using a screen filter (200 mesh) to form
a fiber mat (1 mm thick) and oven-dried at 90  C for
5 min. The dried-oven mat was immersed in the phen-
olic resin for 10 min to get the composites with 30 wt%
of resin. The pre-impregnated mat was withdrawn from
the resin and the ethanol had been removed by drying
the mat at 60  C and pressed at 180  C for 5 min under
5 MPa pressure. Finally, dried composites mat was
post-dried at 160  C for 1 h to yield the hybrid
composite.
459
Mixing and compression moulding
Aji et al.26 prepared the kenaf/PALF reinforced HDPE
hybrid composite using various fibers volume fraction
of 10–70% and fiber length of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 2 mm,
respectively. During composites preparation the ratio
of kenaf/PALF was maintained as 1:1. The chopped
fibers were mixed together in a thermo haake internal
mixer. This machine temperature was controlled upto
at 190  C and set to 40 r/min processing speed. The
HDPE pellets was charged and melted before introdu-
cing the fibers. The mixing time of fiber with melted
resin was about 25 min. The mixture was cut into
pellet form and charged into the compression molding.
This compression moulding machine produced the
composites sheets. It was set at 170  C after preheating
the machine for 7 min. During compression molding,
the full press was done on the composites for 5 min
with six times venting process. Finally the composites
were cooled for 5 min.
Hand lay-up and cold press
Ghani et al.9 used the combination of hand lay-up and
cold press method for preparing the kenaf/GFs rein-
forced unsaturated polyester composites. The catalyst
was incorporated with the polyester and stirred before
injecting into the mold. The 49 g of long kenaf fibers
were arranged inside the mold and layered by GF. Two
mats with average weight of 38 g of GFs were put in
upper and lower part of a composite laminate with
nominal size 295 mm  205 mm. The polyester matrix
was poured on the kenaf/GF in the mold. The wax
was coated on the die for easy removing and good sur-
face finishing of the laminates. The die was coved by
steel frame and the mold size was 300 mm  210 mm. A
cold press method with 10 kN load capacity applied on
the laminates for 15–20 min at room temperature. The
removal of air bubbles and homogeneity of the speci-
men was achieved by this pressing. Finally, the
460
laminated composites was removed from the mold and
cured for 24 h at room temperature. The specimen will
be cut in parallel side shape for characterization with
the dimension of 100 mm  25 mm according to the
standard BS EN ISO 527-3 1996.
Vacuum-assisted resin infusion method
Wang et al.38 prepared the 3D basalt/AF reinforced
composites using vaccum-assisted resin infusion
method. The six warp and seven weft layers were used
to preparing the composites of interplay and intraply
hybrid composites. The fiber yarns were placed in dif-
ferent layers in interplay hybrid and two types of yarns
were placed next to each other in each layer of warp or
weft. The yarn count was 5 ends/cm for three directions
and these laminates were plated in the vaccum mould
for 2 h at 80  C and cured composites was post-cured
at 100  C.
Mechanical properties of hybrid fiber-
reinforced polymer matrix composites
The bamboo/GF-reinforced polymer composites
Moe et al.39 investigated the mechanical properties of
randomly oriented short bamboo/GF-reinforced PP
composites. The percentage improvement of tensile
strength after treated with MAPP fibers composites
was 5.7% compared to untreated fibers composites as
shown in Table 2. Similarly the tensile modulus, flex-
ural strength and modulus have been increased to
8.3%, 23.5% and 32.3%, respectively. Carlo
Santulli40 investigated the impact properties of
bamboo/GFs-reinforced unsaturated polyester com-
posites with bamboo fiber of 6.2% and GF of 18.8%
weight content of 25% total fiber content. The max-
imum impact strength of 32 kJ/m2 was obtained.
The PALF/GF-reinforced polymer composites
Mishra et al.7 investigated the tensile properties of non-
woven PALF/GF mats-reinforced polyester composites
with varying GF content of 25% total fiber content as
shown in Table 2. The maximum tensile and flexural
strength was obtained at 8.6% and 12.3% weight con-
tent of GF in the hybrid composites. Also the
higher impact strength was obtained at 12% weight
content of GF.
The sisal/GF reinforced polymer composites
Mishra et al.7 prepared the non-woven sisal/woven GF
mats-reinforced polyester composites with 30% of total
fiber weight content. The tensile modulus and
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(5)
elongation at break of the hybrid composites depended
on the individual fiber reinforcement. The GF loading
was varied from 0 to 8.5% weight content. The initial
tensile and flexural strength of composite at 0% GF
content was 69 MPa and 99.69 MPa. Addition of GF
increased the tensile and flexural strength of the sisal/
glass hybrid polyester composite compared with the
sisal-polyester composites and the maximum tensile
and flexural properties were found at 5.7% and 2.8%
of GF loading. The flexural strength of sisal/glass
hybrid polyester composite was increased by about
25%. The initial impact strength at 0% of GF content
was 110.25 J/m. At 8.5% weight content of GF, the
impact strength improved by about 34%. The fibers
play an important role in the impact resistance of the
composites. The alkali, cyanoethylation and acetylation
treated sisal/glass hybrid composites were prepared
with 24.3% (sisal) and 5.7% (glass) fiber weight con-
tent. Hybrid composite of 5% alkali-treated had better
tensile strength compared to others-treated SF compos-
ites. The cyanoethylated (13.9% more than control)
and acetylated SF (18.4% more than control)-based
glass hybrid composites had better tensile strengths.
Sisal/glass hybrid polyester composites containing 5%
alkali-treated and acetylated SFs improved flexural
strengths about 8–6% and higher impact strengths.
Kasama et al.41 prepared the hybrid sisal/glass rein-
forced PP composites with total fiber content of 30%
weight content. PP grafted with maleic anhydride was
used as a compatibilizer to enhance the compatibility
between the fibers and PP. Incorporating GF into the
sisal–PP composites enhanced tensile, flexural and
impact strength. Addition of GFs in the sisal–PP com-
posites increased the tensile and flexural strength due to
higher strong and stiff GFs compared to the SFs. It
seemed that the GFs exhibited almost no synergistic
effect on the properties of sisal–PP composites.
However, many researchers reported an increase in
mechanical properties of the natural fiber–PP compos-
ites with incorporating GF.
The tensile and flexural strength of unsaturated
polyester-based sisal/glass reinforced hybrid compos-
ites were studied as a function of fiber content. It was
observed that the tensile and flexural strength of sisal/
GF hybrid component was higher than SF reinforced
composite but lower than the glass reinforced compos-
ite. When the load was applied on sisal/GF hybrid com-
posite, first SFs were broken and then the load was
transferred to GF. Therefore, the presence of GF in
the sisal/GF hybrid composite enhanced the tensile
and flexural strength. The effect of chalk powder on
tensile and flexural strength of sisal/GF hybrid compos-
ite have been studied and it was observed that addition
of the chalk powder in resin decreased the tensile and
flexural strengths.42
Table 2. Mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites.
Fiber Tensile Flexural Flexural
length Fiber Chemical strength Tensile strength modulus Impact
Hybrid fiber (mm) content % Resin treatments (MPa) modulus (GPa) (MPa) (GPa) strength Ref

Bamboo/ Glass 30 Polypropylene Untreated 17.5 3 34 3.4 – – [39]

MAPP 18.5 3.25 42 4.5
Sathishkumar et al.

PALF/ Glass 25 Polyester Untreated 72 – 101.25 – 129 (J/m) [7]

Sisal/ Glass 30 Polyester Untreated 99 – 140 – 149
Alkali treatment 130 – 150 – 169
(5%alkali
solution)
Cyanoethylation 112 – 151.57 – 156
Acetylation 117 – 145 – 165
Bamboo/ Glass 25 Unsaturated polyester Untreated – – – – 32 (kJ/m2) [40]
Coir/ Glass 45 Unsaturated polyester Untreated – – – – 40
Jute/ Glass 14 Unsaturated polyester Untreated – – – – 44
Sisal/ Glass 8 Unsaturated polyester Untreated – – – – 5.76
Flax/ Glass 50 Polypropylene Untreated – – – – 43.2
Flax/ Glass 41 Soybean oil Untreated – – – – 33.6
Hemp / Glass 40 Polypropylene Untreated – – – – 75 (J/m)
Palmyra/Glass 30 41 Rooflite Untreated 26.20 1.398 44.45 1.38 1.75 (J/cm2) [49]
49 35.04 1.168 49.15 2.05 3.73
54 39.83 1.405 56.25 2.62 3.83
40 32 26.05 1.395 26.64 1.55 1.77
36 28.96 1.379 43.02 1.67 2.45
42 31.04 1.498 51.85 2.43 3.76
48 35.91 1.596 54.80 2.45 5.46
54 39.30 1.433 56.24 2.60 5.43
50 31 26.30 1.315 39.85 1.34 1.76
37 32.03 1.312 45.67 1.85 3.58
42 32.58 1.106 55.15 2.18 4.29
47 38.15 1.526 56.12 2.69 5.10
55 42.65 1.515 59.19 3.54 6.05
63 33.25 1.277 – – –
71 24.82 1.356 – – –
Sisal/Silk 10 Unsaturated polyester Untreated 16.573 – 33.498 – – – [8]
20 18.948 46.184
30 17.548 34.024
10 NaOH treatment 20.866 50.452
20 23.605 54.737
30 21.311 53.811
461

(continued)
Table 2. Continued
462

Fiber Tensile Flexural Flexural

length Fiber Chemical strength Tensile strength modulus Impact
Hybrid fiber (mm) content % Resin treatments (MPa) modulus (GPa) (MPa) (GPa) strength Ref

Coir/Glass 20 100:0 Phenolic Untreated 22.27 3.83 53.40 4.8 – – [47]

2:1 34.63 8.46 109.58 8.3
1:1 50.69 8.52 128.63 7.7
1:2 71.58 8.54 179.21 8.6
0:100 100.4 10.42 220.70 11.50
100:0 Alkali-treatment 25.6 4.3 68.3 5.60
2:1 35.3 8.49 121.6 8.91
1:1 51.7 9.5 143.5 8.10
1:2 74.58 9.91 192.8 9.74
0:100 100.4 10.42 220.7 11.50
Sisal/Glass SF GF Polypropylene Untreated (kJ/m2) [41]
20 10 29.62 2.33 66.74 4.03 16.67
15 15 31.48 2.42 68.49 4.04 18.35
10 20 31.59 2.43 68.84 4.13 20.01
Roystonea regia/Glass 5–8 RR GF Epoxy Untreated (J/m) [51]
20 0 28.86 2.386 39.84 3.845 124.23
15 5 31.98 2.416 40.12 3.982 151.26
10 10 33.43 2.522 46.44 3.996 158.43
05 15 34.42 2.644 48.66 4.011 168.46
0 20 36.42 2.888 52.18 4.126 169.33
Coir/Silk 10 – Unsaturated Untreated 11.419 – 37.419 – [50]
polyester
20 15.624 43.744
30 12.924 39.692
10 Alkali treatment 15.014 39.533
20 17.24 45.067
30 16.144 42.018
EFB:Jute (4:1) 50–60 40 Epoxy Untreated 25.30.26 2.620.09 – [52]
EFB:Jute (1:1) 28.3 0.59 2.900.05
EFB:Jute (1:4) 37.9 0.76 3.310.02
Sisal /Glass 35 – Epoxy Untreated 68.55 – [43]
Jute /Glass 62.99
Glass/Sisal 30 – Polyester Untreated 176.20 18 (J) [44]
Glass/Jute 229.54 10
Glass/Sisal/Jute 200.00 12
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(5)

MAPP: maleic anhydride polypropylene.

Sathishkumar et al.
Ramesh et al.43 prepared the sisal/bi-directional
woven mat GF reinforced epoxy composites and the
maximum tensile strength was 68.55 MPa. Again, they
prepared the sisal/GF reinforced polyester composites.
Because of the polyester resin the tensile strength was
increased to 176.20 MPa.44
The roselle/sisal reinforced polymer composites
The randomly oriented intimately mixed short roselle/
SF reinforced polyester hybrid composites were pre-
pared with constant weight ratio of 1:1 at various
fiber contents. The mechanical properties were studied
with and without water absorption of the composites.
The maximum flexural strength was obtained at
150 mm fiber length of 30% weight content of fiber
and maximum impact strength was obtained at
150 mm fiber length of 20% weight content of fiber
for the dry condition than the wet condition.15
The sisal/oil palm fiber reinforced polymer
composites
Maya Jacob et al.45 investigated the mechanical proper-
ties of sisal/oil palm fiber reinforced hybrid rubber com-
posites with various fiber loading, ratio and treatment.
The mechanical properties of longitudinal direction
were higher than transverse direction. The adhesion
between the rubber/fiber was improved by the addition
of a resorcinol-hexamethylene tetramine bonding system.
Similarly, Maya Jacob John et al.46 investigated the effect
of chemically (sodium hydroxide and different silane cou-
pling) treated sisal/oil palm fiber reinforced natural
rubber green composites. The tensile strength and hard-
ness of 4% sodium hydroxide treated fibers composites
are superior than other concentration like 0.5, 1, 2 and
8%, respectively. This composite had higher tensile
strength in longitudinal and transverse directions.
The coir/ GF reinforced polymer composites
47
Mithil Kumar et al. prepared the coir/GF-reinforced
phenolic resin composites. The tensile properties of
untreated and treated coir/glass-phenolic composites
are shown in Table 2. The tensile strength and modulus
of the samples increased linearly with the increase in
GF percentage and this attributed to the higher tensile
strength and modulus. Increasing the GF content from
0 to 100%, the tensile strength increased from 37 to
350%. A similar trend was observed in the case of trea-
ted coir/glass composites. Flexural properties increased
with increase in GF content in composites, as shown in
Table 2. This was due to good compatibility with
matrix and effective stress transfer between the fibers
the composites. The increase in glass fabric content
463
from 0 to 100% increased the flexural strength from
50 to 313%. Carlo Santulli40 prepared the coir/GF rein-
forced unsaturated polyester composite with 45% fiber
content. The maximum impact strength of 40 kJ/m2
was found for untreated fiber reinforced composites.
The jute/GF reinforced polymer composites
Ramesh et al.44 investigated the randomly oriented
jute/GF reinforced-polyester composites. The max-
imum tensile strength of 229.54 MPa was obtained
compared to sisal/glass and sisal/jute/GF reinforced
composites. The jute/GF reinforced-epoxy composites
were prepared with 14% weight content of 35 mm of
fiber length.43 The maximum tensile strength of
62.99 MPa was obtained and it was lower than sisal/
GF reinforced-epoxy composites. Sabeel Ahmed
et al.10 investigated that the impact properties of
woven jute/GF reinforced polyester composites were
examined using various drop weight impact tester
with 5 J, 10 J, 15 J and 20 J, respectively. The total
impactor mass was 2.99 kg. The GF content increased
the peak load and decreased the energy absorption. The
deflection of the specimen was decreased with increas-
ing the GF content. The H2 laminate had optimum
combination of woven jute/GF reinforced composite
with minimum deflection, maximum peak load and
better damage tolerance. De Rosa48 investigated the
post-impact damage of E-glass/jute fiber hybrid lami-
nated polyester composites with various impact energy
of 0, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 J at two intervals. The
average flexural modulus and normalized residual
strength was decreased with increased testing impact
energy. T-type laminates had higher properties com-
pared to Q-type laminate. The acoustic emission
stress was decreased with increase in the impact
energy up to 12.5 J and the higher acoustic emission
stress as obtained at 15 J impact testing.
The flax/GF and hemp/glass reinforced
polymer composites
Flax/GF reinforced PP composite with 50% fiber con-
tent was prepared and the impact strength of 43.2 kJ/m2
was obtained without any chemical treatment on the
fibers. Soybean oil as a matrix at 41% fiber content
had impact strength around 33.6 kJ/m2. Hemp/GF
reinforced PP composite with 40% fiber content was
observed to have 75 J/m2 of impact strength.40
The palmyra/GF reinforced polymer composites
Randomly mixed palmyra/GF reinforced rooflite com-
posites were prepared with different fiber length and
464
different fiber content (49%–54%). At 30 mm and
40 mm fiber length, the maximum tensile, flexural,
impact properties were obtained with 54% fiber con-
tent. At 50 mm fiber length all the static mechanical
properties were higher with 55% fiber content.
Further increasing the fiber content will reduce the
mechanical properties.49
The sisal/silk fiber reinforced polymer composites
Sisal/silk fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester com-
posites were prepared with different fiber lengths of
1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm, respectively. The tensile strength of
randomly oriented untreated and NaOH treatment
sisal/silk polyester-based hybrid composites are shown
in Table 2. It seems that 2 cm fiber length composites
have higher tensile strength than 1 and 3 cm. Further, it
is observed that treated fiber composites have higher
tensile strength than untreated composites. The flexural
strength of untreated and treated sisal/silk hybrid com-
posites is shown in Table 2. It is observed that 2 cm
fiber length composites have higher strength than
1 cm and 3 cm. Further, these values were found to be
slightly higher for treated fiber composites, when com-
pared to untreated composites.8
The coir/silk fiber reinforced polymer composites
Randomly oriented coir/ silk fiber reinforced unsatur-
ated polyester composites were prepared with different
fiber lengths of 1 cm, 2 cm, 3 cm, respectively. Tensile
and flexural properties of randomly oriented coir/silk
fiber hybrid composites with different fiber lengths are
shown in Table 2. It seems that 2 cm fiber length com-
posites have higher tensile and flexural strength than 3
and 1 cm fiber length composites. Further, it is observed
that treated fiber composites possess higher tensile
strength than untreated. This was due to the fact that
alkali treatment improves the adhesion between the coir
fiber surface and matrix by removing hemicellulose and
lignin from the fiber. This surface offers better fiber-
matrix interface adhesion and an increase in mechanical
properties.50
The roystonea regia/GF reinforced
polymer composites
Roystonea regia/GF reinforced epoxy composites were
prepared with different fiber content. Roystonea regia/
GF contents were 20/0, 15/5, 10/10, 5/15 and 0/20.
Table 2 shows the tensile, flexural and impact proper-
ties of composites. The total fiber loading (Roystonea
regia/glass) of the composite was maintained at
20 wt%. The mechanical properties like tensile, flexural
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(5)
strength and flexural modulus, impact strength were
linearly increased with GF loading in hybrid compos-
ites. This was due to the fact that the strength and
modulus of GF was much higher than the natural
fiber. The maximum tensile strength, tensile modulus,
flexural strength, flexural modulus, impact strength was
obtained at 0% roystonea regia with 20% GF
content.51
The EFB/jute reinforced polymer composites
EFB/Jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites were pre-
pared with different fiber ratio. The hybrid fiber ratio is
4:1, 1:1, 1:4, respectively. Table 2 shows the tensile
strength and modulus of EFB/jute hybrid composites
with different weight ratio. It was clear that tensile
strength and modulus of oil palm–epoxy composite
increased with jute fiber loading. The maximum tensile
strength (37.9  0.76 MPa) and tensile modulus
(3.31  0.02 GPa) were obtained at 1:4 fiber ratio.52
The hybridization of OPEFB fiber with woven jute
fiber epoxy composites resulted in an increase of tensile
strength and modulus compared to pure EFB compos-
ite. The woven jute fiber mat employed as skin or core
of the sandwich hybrid composites and the tensile
strength of the hybrid composites was higher than
pure EFB composite. Tensile strength and modulus of
Jw/EFB/Jw (32.5 MPa, 37.5 GPa) hybrid composite
was slightly higher than EFB/Jw/EFB (31.5 MPa,
35 GPa) hybrid composite.53
The snake grass/banana and snake grass/coir
fiber reinforced hybrid composites
Sathishkumar et al.54 prepared the randomly oriented
snake grass/banana and snake grass/coir reinforced
polyester composites. The maximum tensile strength
of snake grass/banana and snake grass/ coir fiber rein-
forced hybrid composites was 48.6 MPa at 20% fiber
content and 44 MPa at 25% fiber content. The max-
imum tensile modulus of snake grass/banana and
snake grass/ coir hybrid fiber reinforced composites
was 710 MPa and 660 MPa at 20% fiber content. The
maximum flexural strength of snake grass/banana and
snake grass/ coir fiber reinforced hybrid composites was
88 MPa at 20% fiber content and 108 MPa at 25% fiber
content.
The banana/kenaf fiber reinforced
polyester composites
Thiruchitrambalam et al.11 investigated the woven mat
and randomly oriented banana/kenaf fiber polyester-
based hybrid composites with 10% alkaline and
sodium laulryl sulphate-treated fibers. The mechanical
Sathishkumar et al.
properties were studied based on ASTM standards. The
maximum tensile and flexural strength was found at
40% volume fraction of woven hybrid fiber composites.
The mechanical properties were studied based on
ASTM standards. The sodium laulryl sulfate treatment
improves the mechanical properties in both random
mix and woven mix hybrid composites. The scanning
electron image at fracture zone of the composites
showed less fiber pullout compared to untreated fiber
composites.
The regenerated cellulose/GF composites
The interfacial stress transfer in a model cellulose/GF
reinforced epoxy composites was investigated by Kenny
Kong et al.55 The local micromechanics of a fractured
GF had been determined in proximity to a regenerated
cellulose fiber. The stress concentration factor was
defined as the ratio of maximum stress in the regener-
ated cellulose fiber to the stress in the undisturbed
region of the fiber. The stress concentration factor
was higher when fiber/matrix interface remains undam-
aged and this reduced when debonding occurs between
them.
The carbon/SiC fiber/boron fiber
reinforced composites
Wang Mingchao et al.56 investigated the compressive
and flexural properties of Carbon/SiC fiber/boron rein-
forced epoxy composites. The maximum compressive
strength of 991 MPa was obtained for SiC FRP com-
pared to other combination composites. The maximum
flexural strength and modulus of 2096 MPa and
221.3 GPa was obtained for SiC FRP at fiber volume
fraction 51%.
The carbon/GF reinforced composites
57
Haipeng et al. evaluated the response and energy
absorbing capacity of hybrid composite tubes made of
unidirectional carbon/GF-reinforced plastic pultruded
tube overwrapped with 45 . The LS-DYNA code was
used to conduct the numerical simulation of crushing
behaviors of tubes subject to both quasi-static compres-
sion and axial dynamic impact loadings. From the
result they have concluded that the energy absorption
capacity was more for carbon fiber compared with glass
fiber.
Dynamic mechanical analysis
Maries et al.12 determined the dynamic mechanical
properties of randomly oriented intimately mixed
short banana/sisal hybrid fiber reinforced polyester
465
composites. Storage modulus and damping factor
(tand) were evaluated by using dynamic mechanical
thermal analyser. Three-point bending modes were
used. The properties were measured over the tempera-
ture range of 30–150  C at a heating rate of 5  C/min
with different frequencies like 2, 20 and 50 Hz, respect-
ively. Dynamic mechanical properties of fiber rein-
forced composites depend on the nature of the matrix
material and the distribution and orientation of the
reinforcing fibers. The storage modulus above glass-
transition temperature (Tg) was found to be increased
with fiber volume fraction up to 0.40 Vf and then
decreased. The tand peak was lower and width was
higher at 0.40 Vf. The activation energy was higher at
3:1 relative volume fraction of banana and SFs.
Jawaid et al.52 discussed the storage modulus of
EFB, jute and hybrid composites having relative
weight fraction of OPEFB: jute (4:1), EFB: jute (1:1)
and EFB: jute (1:4) with effect of temperature. The
storage modulus increased with increase in the weight
fraction of jute fiber and maximum values obtained in
OPEFB:jute (1:4) hybrid composites. The loss modulus
was slightly decreased in rubbery region in case of
EFB:jute (4:1) hybrid composite. The damping factor
was lower for hybrid fiber reinforced composites com-
pared to EFB composite. Jawaid et al.58 investigated
the dynamic mechanical properties of pure resin, pure
EFB, EFB/woven jute fiber reinforced epoxy hybrid
composites. The storage modulus of EFB/Jw/EFB
fiber hybrid composites was of higher value compared
to pure resin and pure EFB. The higher storage modu-
lus at lower and higher temperature region was
observed in Jw/ EFB/Jw and pure Jw composites. The
damping factor peak was lower in Jw/ EFB/Jw com-
pared to all other composites.
Thermal behavior
Boopalan et al.59 investigated the thermal properties of
hybrid raw jute/banana fiber reinforced epoxy compos-
ites with varying fiber weight ratio of 100/0, 75/25, 50/
50, 25/75 and 0/100, respectively, with varying tempera-
tures using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and heat
deflection temperature (HDT) analysis. In TGA curves
it was shown that 50% jute and 50% banana fiber
reinforced epoxy hybrid composite had higher thermal
stability and the degradation temperature was shifted
from 200  C to 380  C. HDT results indicated that 50%
jute and 50% banana fiber reinforced epoxy hybrid
composite had sustained their thermal property at max-
imum temperature of 90  C compared to other compos-
ites. Jawai et al.58 investigated the thermal properties of
OPEFB/woven jute fiber reinforced epoxy hybrid com-
posites with varying temperatures. Thermal analysis
reported that the addition of woven jute fibers in
466
pure EFB composite increased thermal stability.
Hybridization of OPEFB with woven jute fiber resulted
in higher thermal stability compared to OPEFB fiber.
The degradation temperature was shifted from 292  C
to 457  C with a char residue of 12.1%.
Naga Prasad Naidu et al.60 prepared the unsaturated
polyester-based sisal/GF hybrid composites and the
thermal conductivity of these hybrid composites was
studied. It was observed that the GF composite exhib-
ited higher thermal conductivity than the SF reinforced
composite. Thermal conductivity of the sisal/GF hybrid
composite was higher than sisal reinforced composite
but lower than GF reinforced composite. The increase
in thermal conductivity of hybrid composite was due to
the presence of GF. It was observed that the composite
without addition of chalk powder exhibited lower ther-
mal conductivity. Therefore, the addition of chalk
powder increased the thermal conductivity.
Dhakal et al.61 investigated the thermal properties of
hybridization of hemp/GF (chopped strand material)
reinforced unsaturated polyester. The DTG curve
showed that the NaOH-treated fiber composites had
better thermal stability compared to untreated fiber
composites and the degradation temperature was shifted
from 345  C to 384  C with char residue of 12.81%.
Kasama et al.41 investigated the thermal properties
of glass/SF reinforced PP composite with varying
weight ratios. The decomposition temperature was
increased with increasing GF content in composites.
The result reported that the 10 sisal/20 GF/polypropyl-
ene grafted with maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) compos-
ite had better thermal stability than other combinations
and the degradation temperature was shifted from
364.2  C to 464.7  C. Sudhir et al.62 investigated
the thermal properties of hybrid jute/bagasse fiber
reinforced epoxy composites using TGA and DTA
analysis. Chemically treated and untreated
bagasse fiber with surface-treated jute fiber bundles
reinforced epoxy hybrid composites was examined.
Results reported that the surface-treated bagasse fiber
with surface-treated jute fiber bundles reinforced epoxy
hybrid composite had better thermal stability and the
degradation temperature was shifted from 438  C
to 475  C.
Jawaid et al.63 investigated the thermal properties of
OPEFBs (chopped fiber mat) /jute fiber reinforced
epoxy hybrid composites. The result showed the
hybrid composites had improved thermal stability
than raw fibers and the degradation temperature was
shifted from 268  C to 443  C. Nayak24 investigated the
degradation behavior of short banana/GF reinforced
PP hybrid composites under biotic and abiotic atmos-
phere. The result reported that banana fiber PP com-
posites obtained maximum degradation behavior than
GF PP hybrid composites.
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(5)
Tribological properties
Ashok Kumar et al.64 measured the frictional coeffi-
cient of sisal/GF reinforced epoxy hybrid composites
with different sliding speeds such as 0.2, 2 and 4 mm/s
with constant load of 10 N. Alkali-treated and without
treated fiber composites were tested at environmental
condition of 22  C and 45% relative humidity. Fiber
length versus frictional coefficient graph showed that
the fiber length up to 2 cm had lower frictional coeffi-
cient and for increasing the fiber length of the compos-
ites the frictional coefficient was to be increased. Also
addition of fiber length decreased the frictional coeffi-
cient at higher sliding speeds. The optimal improve-
ment was found at 2 cm treated fiber reinforced
composites compared to untreated ones.
Thomas et al.65 investigated the friction and wear
behavior of woven mat glass, weave carbon/AF rein-
forced epoxy hybrid composites with various pressure
(p), sliding velocity (v) also referred to as pv condi-
tions. GF reinforced composites were higher wear
rate than carbon/aramid composites. As a result fric-
tion rate was decreased 35% by adding weave GF in
carbon/aramid weave fiber reinforced epoxy compos-
ites. Wan et al.66 investigated the tribological properties
of three-dimensional braided carbon/Kevlar fiber rein-
forced epoxy hybrid composites under dry and lubri-
cated (phosphate buffer solution) conditions with
various fibers volume fraction and ratio. Test was per-
formed at a sliding velocity of 0.42 m/s under various
loads of 50 N, 150 N and 250 N, respectively. The braid-
ing direction was parallel to sliding direction. Wear and
coefficient of friction in lubricating condition was much
lower than drying condition. The carbon to Kevlar
fiber ratio of 3:2 was found to have least friction coef-
ficient and higher wear resistance.
Shi-Quant Lai et al.67 investigated friction and wear
behaviors of polyimide/attapulgite hybrid materials
under dry frictional conditions. Addition of % wt of
attapulgite in polyimide hybrid decreased the friction
and wear rate compared to pure polyimide. Bigger
debris was found by using attapulgite as filler inside
the polyimide matrix. Chauhan et al.68 investigated
tribological performance of E-GF reinforced vinyl
ester composites with various weight combinations
such as vinyl ester/50 wt% GF, vinyl ester/50 wt%
GF/10 wt% fly ash and vinyl ester/50 wt% GF/20 wt%
fly ash composites under dry and water lubricated slid-
ing conditions. The test conducted at various loading
conditions were 10 N, 30 N and 50 N at sliding speed
of 1.6 m/s, 2.8 m/s and 4.0 m/s, respectively. The specific
wear was found by using weight loss method. The result
graph reported that GF reinforced with fly ash filler
improved the wear characteristics of vinyl ester compos-
ites for both dry and water lubricated conditions.
Sathishkumar et al.
Sandhyarani and Prity69 investigated the erosion
wear behavior of short bamboo/E-GF reinforced
epoxy hybrid composites with various weight com-
position such as 100 wt% epoxy, 75 wt% epoxy/
7.5 wt% bamboo fiber/7.5 wt% GF, 70 wt% epoxy/
15 wt% bamboo fiber/15 wt% GF, 65 wt% epoxy/
22.5 wt% bamboo fiber/22.5 wt% GF. The result of
erosion rate versus impact velocity curve reported
that 15 wt% bamboo/GF reinforced composites had
least erosion rate compared to other composites.
Water absorption behavior
Sathishkumar70–72 investigated the water absorption
behaviors of untreated and various chemically snake
grass fiber reinforced polyester composites with various
fiber weight content and fiber length at different envir-
onmental condition. The kinetic of water absorption
and transport coefficients were examined. Also the
weight gain values of carbon/GF reinforced hybrid
composites were analyzed with various temperatures
of 40, 60 and 90  C for 5300 h.73 The following equation
was used to calculate the mass of the water absorption
(equation (1)).
Moisture content (mc)
mass of the sample after exposing it in humidity (m)
¼ 100%
mass of the dried sample (md )
ð1Þ
74
Alexander et al. showed that flax fiber absorbed
less water compared to untreated GFA-green and
RFA-retted fibers. This was due to change in wax con-
tent because of the chemical treatment of fiber
increased negative potentials. The green natural fibers
(flax as well as hemp) are less hydrophilic due to high
amount of waxes on their surfaces. Moe and Kin27
investigated the environmental behavior of bamboo
fiber reinforced PP composite and bamboo-GF rein-
forced polymer matrix hybrid composites. The percent-
age of water absorption was evaluated with 25  C and
70  C, respectively, and records the change in mass of
the samples for regular time intervals. The moisture
absorption level for bamboo fiber reinforced PP sam-
ples was higher than bamboo GF reinforced polymer
composites. Moisture gain decreased with increasing
the GF content in the composite and with the use of
MAPP-PP matrix.
Mishra et al.7 investigated the water absorption
behavior of biofiber (PALF/SF)/glass reinforced poly-
ester hybrid composites with different weight content.
The result reported that the water absorption property
of hybrid composites was lower than unhybridised
composites and treated (with alkaline, cyanoethylated
and acetylated) hybrid composites. Reis et al.75 investi-
gated the moisture absorption behavior of hemp
467
natural fiber/PP composites and the result reported
that treated fiber composites had decreased moisture
absorption behavior than untreated fiber. This was
due to better interfacial adhesion between the fiber
and matrix.
Velmurugan and Manikandan49 investigated the
water absorption behavior of randomly mixed pal-
myra/GF hybrid composites with different weight con-
tents. Moisture absorption curve was used to find the
moisture absorption and diffusion coefficient. This
curve was plotted water absorption versus square root
of time period and moisture gain of composites was
studied according to Fickian mode (Sathishkumar at
al.70–72). The curve showed that the percentage of mois-
ture absorption of potable water was less than that of
seawater. Addition of GF with palmyra fiber in the
matrix decreases the moisture absorption in the com-
posites. Kasama et al.41 investigated the water absorp-
tion behavior of SF-PP composites. When the PP
grafted with maleic anhydride decreased the water
absorption of sisal-PP composites and as the water
absorption decreased by increasing GF content.
Abdul et al.30 investigated the water absorption
behavior of oil palm of EFB/chopped strand mat
GF reinforced vinyl ester matrix hybrid composites
with different layer arrangements. The water absorp-
tion curve reported that percentage of water absorption
was between 1.0% and 3.5%. Kushwaha et al.76 inves-
tigated the water absorption behavior of the bamboo/
GF reinforced epoxy and polyester matrix hybrid com-
posites. The outer layer of GF was shielding by internal
bamboo layers. Woven mat GF had less water absorp-
tion compared to strand mat. The hybridization of
bamboo/woven mat GF reinforced epoxy resin com-
posite results in lower moisture uptake from 26% to
16% compared to bamboo fiber polyester composite.
Marco et al.77 concluded that the water absorption was
increased with addition of wood flour in the hybrid
recycled GF/wood flour low-density polyethylene
(LDPE) thermoplastic composites.
The water absorption in natural fiber reinforced
composites depends on temperature, fiber loading,
orientation of fibers permeability of fibers, surface pro-
tection, diffusivity, void content, etc. Hybridization of
jute fiber with OPEFB fiber in epoxy resin decreased
the water absorption of EFB composites. While
increasing the jute fiber content the water absorption
of hybrid composites decreased. This was due to the
less hydrophilic nature of the jute fiber.78
Salleh et al.79 investigated the water absorption
behavior of long kenaf/woven GFs hybrid composites
with three different environmental conditions such as
distilled water, acidic rain water and sea water. The per-
centage of water absorption was measured for five stages
like 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks at room
468
temperature and the solution considered as non-Fickian
diffusion process. The percentage of moisture absorp-
tion behavior in sea water was very low compared to
distilled water and acidic rain water. Singh et al.80 inves-
tigated the water absorption behavior of banana fiber
reinforced epoxy composites with different weight per-
centage. Addition of filler material like silica reduced the
water absorption. Dixit et al.81 investigated the water
absorption behavior of coir/sisal/jute fiber reinforced
polyester composites under various fibers weight con-
tent. The water absorption was conducted in distilled
water at room temperature for different time intervals
such as 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Jute and SF reinforced poly-
ester composite had minimum water uptake compared
to other combinations. Boopalan et al.59 investigated the
water absorption behavior of jute and banana fiber rein-
forced epoxy hybrid composites with various weight
ratio of fibers such as 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and
0/100, respectively. The test conducted at ambient tem-
perature and the result showed that 50/50 weight ratio of
hybrid composites had minimum moisture absorption
compared to other weight ratio of fiber composites.
Application
The natural fiber reinforced composites have been used
for various application and for replacing the existing
higher weight materials.1 The composite solid cones
were developed using the oil palm/coir fiber-reinforced
hybrid composites.82 The low-cost hybrid biofiber-
based composites for structural cellular plates were fab-
ricated for structural applications.83 The glass/jute fiber
reinforced pipe bend was fabricated by Cicala et al.84
with a cost reduction of 20% and a weight reduction of
23% when hemp mat have been used compared to com-
mercial pipe construction.
The important applications are
. Building and construction industry: panels for par-
tition and false ceiling, partition boards, wall, floor,
window and door frames, roof tiles etc.
. Storage devices: post-boxes, grain storage silos,
biogas containers, etc.
. Furniture: chair, table, shower, bath units, etc.
. Electric devices: electrical appliances, pipes, etc.
. Everyday applications: lampshades, suitcases, hel-
mets, etc.
. Transportation: automobile and railway coach inter-
ior, boat, gears etc.
Conclusion
The mechanical, dynamics, tribological, thermal and
water absorption properties of natural fibers and GF
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 33(5)
reinforced hybrid polymer composites have been dis-
cussed. The important applications of these composites
are highlighted.
. The randomly, longitudinally and woven mat hybrid
fiber reinforced polymer composites were prepared
by using various manufacturing techniques with
various fiber volume fraction or weight fraction
and fiber length. Also, the composites were prepared
with various chemically treated fibers. Among those
manufacturing the simple hand lay-up method fol-
lowed by compression moulding process was used to
prepare the composites.
. Mechanical properties like tensile, flexural
and impact of the hybrid composites were examined
for various fiber content and fiber length with
treated and untreated fiber. The fibers volume frac-
tion or weight fraction and fiber length were
optimized.
. The dynamic properties of natural fiber-reinforced
hybrid composites have been analyzed with various
volume fraction or weight fraction, different fiber
length and frequency. The treated fiber-reinforced
hybrid composites have higher thermal stability
than untreated fiber composites.
. The treated fiber-reinforced hybrid composites
decreased water absorption and kinetic of water
absorption. This was due to better adhesion between
the fiber and matrix.
Hence natural fiber reinforced hybrid polymer have
been used to replace the synthetic fibers reinforced
polymer composites. The utilization of natural
fibers reinforced hybrid polymer composites is of very
lesser dimension. For improving the composites prop-
erties, the fibers were treated with various chemicals
and matrix blend with suitable chemical for making
the composites. This may improve the mechanical
properties of the natural fiber reinforced hybrid
composites.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding
agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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