Mechanical Properties of Glass/Carbon Fiber Hybrid based on Epoxy Epikote 828 Composite Materials

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of single-fiber reinforcements (carbon or glass) in comparison with glass/carbon hybrid reinforcements in epoxy resin (Epikote 828) based composites. The results show that composites reinforced with a single type of fiber exhibit mechanical properties governed by the intrinsic characteristics of the respective reinforcement. In contrast, the incorporation of glass/carbon hybrid fibers leads to a synergistic improvement in the overall mechanical performance. Specifically, the hybrid composite achieves a tensile strength of 205 MPa, a flexural strength of 331 MPa, and an impact strength of 75 kJ/m². The fracture morphology is analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the thermal stability is evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results demonstrate that hybrid fiber reinforcement significantly enhances the thermal stability of the composite compared with that reinforced solely with glass fibers.