Effect of MWCNTS on mechanical properties of woven fabric hybrid polymeric nanocomposites and finite element analysis of nanocomposite

This study focused on the mechanical behavior of hybrid polymeric nanocomposites with 0.1 wt% and 0.2 wt% of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Moreover, the fiber orientation effect on the mechanical properties of the hybrid nanocomposites was investigated. Mechanical properties of the hybrid nanocomposites of Glass/Carbon/Basalt fibers were determined. It was observed that addition of MWCNTs in the epoxy resulted in enhancement in the mechanical properties. The hybrid composite and hybrid nanocomposite panels were made using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) method. Test specimens were cut from the composites using waterjet machine cutting and tested in accordance with American Society for Materials Testing (ASTM) standards. From the experimental tests, it was observed that the hybrid nanocomposite with 0.1 wt% of MWCNTs showed improved tensile strength, compressive strength, flexural, and interlaminar shear properties at comparatively low cost. The finite element analysis of hybrid composite and hybrid nanocomposite with 0.1 wt% and 0.2 wt% of MWCNTs were carried out in ANSYS program to validate the experimental results. The experimental results and simulation results were compared with each other. A good correlation between the computational and experimental test results were observed.