Effects of aluminum and silicon carbide on morphological and mechanical properties of epoxy hybrid composites

The present research focuses on the effects of aluminum (Al) and silicon carbide (SiC) hybridization on mechanical and morphological properties of Al and SiC particles reinforced hybrid epoxy composites. Composites were prepared by hand lay-up technique at five levels of reinforcement loading (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt%). Aluminum powder and silicon carbide particles were utilized as reinforcement at a ratio of (1:1) during composite preparation. Microstructural analysis using a scanning electronic microscope and optical microscope was performed to observe the adhesiveness between the matrix and reinforcement. For mechanical characterization, tensile, flexural, impact, and hardness tests were performed. Tensile and flexural strength decreased, while Young's modulus, flexural modulus, impact strength, and hardness increased with increase in aluminum and silicon carbide particle loading. Based on the particle loading, 50 wt% of particle-reinforced composite had the best set of mechanical properties among all prepared composites.