Towards green engineering designs: Natural fibre-based hybrid composites for structural applications

In this paper, the effect of intra-yarn hybridisation on the macroscopic homogenised properties of natural fibre-based hybrid composites (NFHCs) was computationally investigated. Many researchers have experimentally investigated hybrid effects on their mechanical properties. Only a limited number of computational studies on NFHCs have been reported. Four hybrid plain weave laminates: jute-glass, hemp-glass, jute-carbon and hemp-carbon were studied using a two scale modelling approach. The approach is based on homogenisation in which micromechanical representative volume element (RVE) model and mesomechanical repeating unit cell (RUC) model are established separately. The results indicate that hemp-glass hybrid 2D woven composites may be more cost-effective than glass woven composites in structural applications.