Flax-aramid fiber reinforced epoxy composites: mechanical and thermal evaluation for sustainable automotive components

Abstract

ABSTRACT The escalating demand for lightweight, high performance materials for the automotive sector has accelerated the development of hybrid composites. This study explores the mechanical and thermal behavior of epoxy based composites reinforced with a combination of flax and aramid fibers. Five hybrid configurations were developed by varying the fiber ratios and the experimental investigation includes tensile, flexural, compression, impact, water absorption, thermal stability, and hardness tests to assess the performance of the composites. Among all formulations, Combination 4 (67% epoxy, 9% flax, and 24% aramid) delivered the most balanced performance, exhibiting a tensile strength of 42.494 MPa and a flexural strength of 171.493 MPa. These values are substantially higher than representative properties reported for commonly used engineering thermoplastics such as Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) in published literature. Microstructural evaluation via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis through Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Shore D hardness tests confirmed the superior integrity and heat resistance of this configuration. The findings reveal combination No.4 as a strong, thermally stable, and weight efficient replacement for conventional polymer materials used in automotive structural components.